Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire
by Shamrock Holmes
Summary: (Legacy of the Dark Knight Part I. COMPLETE!) Cast out of Hogwarts after the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny Weasley's future was adrift until a chance encounter opens up a new opportunity for adventure and the future. R/Hr, BW/FD. First Installment of the Legacy of the Dark Knight Series, story will continue in Jamie Prosser and the Fourth Champion late 2017.
1. Chapter 1: Svalbard

**.**

 **Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 1: Svalbard**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books, two of which is touched upon in this chapter, and others that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the 'New Tens' as screened, and is fairly heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result._

* * *

 **Svalbard  
30** **th** **April, 0800 CEST, 305 AS**

Ginny tried to ignore the enticing smells coming off the food stalls as she walked past them. Her belly was definitely keen on getting some food into it soon, but she didn't have any Sickles on her, and besides, even though they'd finished off the last of the stew last night, she was pretty sure they had a _few_ sandwiches left back at the tent, which – even if they were past their best after a week under Preservation Charms – should _do._

When she heard a familiar voice, she almost ignored it - it wasn't the first she'd heard that week and few of them had even been friendly – but then she realised _when_ she'd last heard that particular voice.

 _"Harry - oh, Harry - I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy - it was me, Harry - but I - I s-swear I d-didn't mean to - R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over - and - how did you kill that - that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary -"_

 _"It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here -"_

 _"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and - w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"_

 _Harry?_ Ginny thought, and turned towards the direction of the voice. For a moment she couldn't see anyone that looked like him in the crowd.

Then she spotted a dark-haired boy wearing Muggle jeans, a parka and a red hat – a booseball cap she thought they were called – accepting a couple of the delicious-smelling rolls from one of the stall-holders.

Then he turned towards her, and Ginny felt a flash of disappointment when she saw his eyes were blue, not green. But then he looked up and saw her, and then he smiled, and then she suddenly _knew_ , that despite the _blue_ eyes, despite the boy's entirely too short and tidy _brown_ hair, despite common sense telling her that it _couldn't_ be Harry James Potter that was now walking towards her...

"Hi Ginny, said the blue-eyed boy. "Would you like a _byurek_?"

 _It was._

Ginny was so shocked it felt like an age before she was able to respond. With a nod, she accepted the pastry – Weasleys didn't accept _charity_ , but food was food, and that was different – and quickly bit into it.

Harry smiled, then took another pastry out of the bag and began eating it. "How are you, Ginny? Ron, the twins, did Hermione recover? I haven't seen any of you since..."

 _Professor McGonagall's face was as imperturbable as always as she joined the two of them in the Infirmary the day after Harry and Ron had rescued her from the Chamber. As always she got right to the point. "Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, the Governors met early this morning to discuss your situation and I'm afraid it is their judgement that for endangering the students of Hogwarts by recklessly opening the Chamber of Secrets-"_

 _"But, Professor..." Harry began, but was silenced by a glare from the acting headmistress._

 _"... Both of you are to be expelled from the school," she finished. "Please hand over your wands."_

 _Ginny immediately handed hers over, and Harry did so a moment later. McGonagall laid them on a side table and drew her own wand._ "Conteram Virgam!"

 _She turned back to them, her face briefly showing a rare flash of emotion, before returned her usual impassive expression. "You may remain here until Madam Pomphrey is satisfied that your reckless actions haven't done you any further harm, and then you will escorted back to Gryffindor Tower to collect your things and leave the premises."_

 _"But Professor, can't I least..."_

 _"No exceptions, Mr Potter. Goodbye." Professor McGonagall replied, and then turned and quickly left the room._

Blushing slightly, Ginny swallowed her current mouthful, "I'm okay, Harry. Xeno Lovegood, one of our neighbours, took me on as his apprentice."

Harry paused for a moment, "Doesn't he run the _Quibbler_?"

"How do you...?"

"I'm not entirely out of touch with Wizarding Britain," Harry admitted. "I try to keep an ear out for certain things." He scowled. "I don't think the ploy with the Diary, was the last we'll hear of the Death Eaters."

In Ginny's opinion, that 'answer' raised _at least_ as many questions as it answered, but she wasn't doing an interview, so she decided to drop it _for now_. "It's not exactly my dream job, but after the rumours about my – our – expulsion started making the rounds I didn't exactly have a lot of choices."

Harry nodded. "My Cousin Beryl has some contacts in the government, so she was able to set me up with..." he paused, looking slightly wary.

"With?"

"I probably shouldn't say any more," said Harry. "Who do you fancy for the match?"

"The Vixens having been storming through the rankings, so they'll be a tough team to beat."

Harry nodded.

"But the twins and I reckon that the Harpies'll still win. Ron's mainly sore that he's missing it. Dad couldn't get tickets."

"Interesting..." said Harry. "I suppose the twins've got a bet on?"

Ginny shook her head. "They gave me some money to put on for them, but nobody seems to be interested."

"Do they have any plans for the money?"

"They want to open a joke shop," Ginny admitted, her confidence rising now they were on a safer topic. "Some of their stuff is pretty good."

"I think I know someone who'd take that bet for them. If you'll trust me?" Harry said.

Ginny blushed, of _course_ she trusted _him._ It was herself she wasn't sure about. She nodded.

"How much have you got?"

"Not sure, hang on," Ginny replied and after a moment of digging around in her jeans pocket, fished out the money bag the twins had given her and started counting out the gold, silver and bronze coins, while watching him out of the corner of her eye, something that she'd done _a lot_ of during her disastrous year at Hogwarts.

For a moment, Harry watched her as well, and then his attention appeared to drawn away. He almost seemed to be _listening_ to something.

"Thirty Galleons, five Sickles, seven Knuts," Ginny finished. "A bit less than they were hoping for, I think, but..." She tipped the coins back into the bag and handed them over to Harry.

"Sorry Ginny, it was nice talking to you..." Harry told her, after pocketing both the money bag. "I've got to go. I'll sort out that bet for you. Be careful."

"I will," Ginny assured him.

"I know you will," Harry said, and put his hand out.

Ginny blushed, but took him up on his offer. As she grasped his hand, she could feel him passing her something.

"If you're ever in danger... squeeze this and say 'help', and I'll find you."

"W-w-what... h-h-how..." stammered Ginny, unable to say anything until after he'd disappeared into the crowd. She looked down at the object. It appeared to be a broach, a blue and silver circle with two silver letters in the middle. "Who or what is a 'JL'?" she wondered, then shrugged. The match would be starting soon; there would be plenty of time later to ponder the mystery of Harry Potter later.

* * *

 **B** **ryntröll** **Stadium, Svalbard  
30** **th** **April, 1300 CEST**

Ginny shivered a little as she mounted the steps of the Press Box, she'd got used to the freezing temperatures of the island over the last couple of days, but for some reason, even being a few dozen feet up made things even worse, she sat down next to Luna and gratefully accepted the cup of hot chocolate that her friend offered her.

"Are you all-right, Ginny?" she asked, looking surprisingly focused. "You look a little distracted."

Ginny snorted, finding a little amusing that _Luna_ of all people was called _her_ distracted. But she was saved from having to try and explain the situation by the announcer entering the VIP box.

"Hello everyone," he said, his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands. "And welcome to what promises to be an exciting third round game as European Cup veterans, the Holyhead Harpies, take on the underdog... _Vlatavastok Vixens_!

"For the Harpies today we have... Carter, Copeland, Norris, Nunez, Reynolds, McLaughlin, and JONES!

"And in yellow, for the Vixens... Zamfirscu, Raducanu, Szilagyi, Funascu, Ceausescu, Hadescu, and. LIXANDROIU!"

"The Quaffle is in the air. Taken by Funascu, she makes a break for the goal, intercepted by McLaughlin, Carter takes the Quaffle… she shoots. Saved by Lixandroiu. The Vixens in possession."

"Carter snatches the Quaffle, Katrina Carter of the Harpies, flying for the the Vixens' goal. Passes one Chaser, the second, and the third. She shoots and scores for the Harpies, opening the scoring at ten to zero The Harpies are still in possession, Joanne Copeland with the Quaffle, manoeuvring for a shoot, ducks a Bludger from Beater Zamfirscu of the Vixens, she shoots... scores again. Carter takes the Quaffle for the Harpies, ducks a swing from Beater Raducanu, reverse pass to Norris. She shoots, Lixandroiu deflects it just in time. Copeland intercepts, and scores again for the Harpies! They now lead thirty to zero."

"After a valiant attempt on goal by Hadescu, but the Harpies regain possession, Copeland on a break-away. She shoots... the Harpies scores again to regain their thirty point lead at forty to zero! The Vixens now in possession, Ceausescu has the Quaffle, she dodges Copeland and Carter, she's lined up for the goal. Oh! She gets a Bludger from behind from McLaughlin and she drops the Quaffle, the Harpies now in possession. Carter streaking up the left side... she turns hard, good throw for the goal. Score! The Harpies are now fifty to zero, and the Vixens have possession."

"A tricky manoeuvre by Claudia Zamfirscu of the Vixens brings the score to fifty to ten, the Vixens retain possession... Hadescu jockeying for position, Copeland and Norris on the intercept, tries to climb above them, drops the Quaffle to Funascu, she shoots and the Vixens close the gap to thirty points."

"But it looks like the Harpies aren't going to take that lying down. Copeland snags the Quaffle, long pass to Carter, who puts another one away to bring the score to sixty to twenty. Is that the Snitch?"

It was. Nunez and Szilagyi both saw it at the same time, and dived for it. One of the the Vixens' Beater hit a Bludger in Nunez's direction but it was easily deflected back by Jones. Roger looped behind the second Bludger and hit it in Szilagyi's direction. He dodged it easily, but the manoeuvre cost him precious seconds. "With a nice use of the Plumpton Pass, Seeker Reynolds captures the Snitch and the Harpies win two-hundred and ten to twenty!" The Harpies fans roared with delight **,** Ginny joining them as most of the fans filed out of the stands, the Harpies chanting victory songs as they went.

* * *

 **Svalbard  
30** **th** **April, 2300 CEST**

 _Where are you, Harry?_ Ginny asked desperately as she fled with the crowd towards the woods. "Help!" she yelled again, squeezing the broach desperately.

At that moment, a white-robed wizard's spell just grazed her flank, but caused the nearby to explode in a ball of fire. Blinded by the sudden brightness, Ginny staggered forward for a moment then tripped, dropping the broach and striking her head on some metallic. "No, please... help!" she moaned, as she fought to remain conscious. "Someone... help." But she could feel herself losing consciousness and then the mostly black night closed in...

A sharp pain in her side woke her a little later. She turned over and despite herself nearly screamed.

A white-robed wizard standing over, wand pointed at her. "You're awake..." he snarled. "Good, it's not as much if they don't scream..." he snarled. "Time to die... _Engels meisje_!"

Ginny tried pull herself up to run, but she knew it was hopeless... no wand, painful ankle, head aching, she lowered her head in despair. _Mum, Dad... I'm sorry, I'll miss you._

The white-robed wizard raised his wand. " _Ava._.. _aargh_!"

Ginny looked up with a start. The white-robed wizard, who a moment ago had been about to end her miserable life, was now staggering backwards, gripping his wand arm – which appeared to have some balls on a string wrapped around it – clearly in pain.

"I don't think so!" declared a familiar voice from the forest.

"Harry!" exclaimed Ginny. "You came!"

"Of course I did, Ginny," said Harry, who having apparently changed at some point as he was now wearing some sort of form-fitting silver and white hooded suit, and silver gloves and boots. All-in-all, he looked a lot like some of those 'super people' she'd seen in the Muggle papers that Mister Lovegood sometimes bought for 'research'. He bent down and looked at her. "Are you all right?"

Ginny nodded. "My head hurts, and my ankle. But now you're here..."

"How dare you!" snarled the white-robed wizard, having come to his senses and realised what was happening. "I'll kill you for that, _Muggle_!"

"He's no _Muggle_ ," declared Ginny, surprised at her daring. "And neither am _I_!"

Before she could think twice about it, she snatched up the fallen wand and pointed it at the white-robed wizard. " _Mucus Vespertilius_!"

The white-robed wizard's mask was knocked from his face as a cloud of large, black bats that flew out of his nose and started circling his head.

"That'll keep _him_ occupied for a while," observed Harry dryly, then turned back to Ginny. "Can you stand?"

"Maybe... don't think I can run though," she admitted.

"More help's on the way," Harry told her. "Let me help you up."

He held out his arm and Ginny was about to lean on it when a spell came from behind them and caused another tent to explode. Ginny screamed as chucks of burnt canvas rained done on them. "Cover your head!" Harry yelled. "And stay down!"

"I can help!" Ginny insisted, gripping her stolen wand.

"Not now!" Harry glanced back at her, then drew what appeared to be two wing-shaped cylinders from pouches on his belt. He turned back to the white-robed wizards and threw the cylinders in their direction. "Have some of your own!"

Ginny wasn't sure what he meant for a moment, but then the objects hit the ground and three of the white-robed wizards were blown back by an explosion and two more were enveloped in some sort of gas. This didn't seem to bother them all that much, as they shot spells back at Harry, but their aim was off and he dodged, then drew another pair of cylinders and threw them at the two attackers. They hit them, enveloping them briefly in what looked like lightning. They screamed briefly and then fell to the ground.

"Are they dead?" asked Ginny, honestly not sure which answer she wanted.

"Not dead," Harry replied. "Just knocked out." Then he got that 'listening' look again for a moment. "She's here."

"Where?" asked Ginny, looking around but seeing only the dead, the unconscious and the fires... then just for a second, over one of the burning tents, she saw a slight shimmer in the air, as if something was _flying_ towards them, then it was gone. But seconds later she saw it again, but this time the 'shimmer' was fading into view, turning into a dark-green triangular 'thing' that looked a little like a cross between a Muggle plane and the eagle rays that Bill had sent her photos of once. "What is that?!"

"My new friends," Harry replied. "And our ticket out of here."

The 'eagle ray-plane' swung around in mid-air, _Planes aren't supposed to do that... are they?_ And then settled down to hover a couple of feet off the ground. Then the back of it _melted_ downwards and formed a sort of ramp. _That's not right... is it?_ thought Ginny, but when Harry moved towards it, she hobbled after him.

The first part of it was a small cargo area, similar to the backs of the vans she'd seen unloading in the village, then the floor split in half around a sort of 'throne', with two high-backed chairs flanking it a little further down. Harry headed towards the left-hand chair and helped Ginny into it. Then he turned to the 'throne', Ginny followed his gaze, not sure what to expect.

Which wasn't a slim, dark-haired girl, a little younger than herself, but with an expression that spoke of intelligence and a _lot_ more self-confidence than Ginny had felt in a _long_ time.

"Ginny, meet Maddy Magnuson, one of the new friends my cousin Beryl introduced me to... Maddy, this is Ginny Weasley, she's one of the girls I told you about. She was injured in the chaos, and with the situation being what it is..."

 _Harry talked about me..._

"Pleasure to meet you, Ginny," said Maddy. "I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about..."

Any further attempts at conversation were cut-off when an odd gust of wind blew into the room, and another girl, this one with darker skin visible in her face and forearms, wearing a similar outfit to Harry, seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Dalmatian is clear," reported the girl. "The English and Danish Ministries are arriving in force."

"That's our exit cue!" declared Harry, sliding a fourth chair that had melted up out of the floor at the front of the triangular room. "Maz, buckle up! Maddy, engage cloak and get us off the ground!"

"Done! Going!" replied the pair in unison, as Ginny could feel herself behind pushed back into her chair.

She tried to stay awake, but she could feel herself, loosing the battle. It was all she could do to gasp, "Harry..." before passing out.

* * *

 **Underground Cave**

 **Location Unknown**

 **1** **st** **May, 0930 BST  
**

Ginny groaned as she drifted back into consciousness, then panicked as she found herself in a _cave_ , but before she could act, a voice broke into her awareness. "Ginny, it's all right, don't panic! You're safe!"

"Oh, Harry!" Ginny gasped. "For a moment, I thought...!"

"That you were back in the Chamber," Harry finished, for her. He was back in the Muggle t-shirt and jeans he'd worn earlier. "Sorry, I should guessed you'd be a little freaked... it's just that this is the closest base that we have access to, and the ship was damaged..."

"It's okay, Harry," Ginny assured him. "If you say it's okay, I trust you. What happened... how long have I been out?"

"A little under twelve hours," replied another voice from behind Ginny. "You had a minor head injury and a superficial burn to your shoulder, both easily corrected."

The voice moved into view, it was a stocky, round-faced, elderly man. "Mister Potter, if you would do the honours?" asked the man, in what Ginny thought might be an American accent. He was dressed in a Muggle trousers, shirt, waistcoat and bolo tie and wearing thick-lensed glasses.

"Sorry, uh, Hank," Harry stammered. "Ginny, this is ... Hank Hackenbacker, the caretaker of this particular safe-house. Hank, this is Ginny Weasley, youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley of Ottery St Catchpole."

"A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Miss Weasley," replied the old man. "Mister Potter has mentioned you and your family on several occasions, he has spoken well of you."

"Thank you," said Ginny, blushing slightly.

Hank turned to Harry, "Miss Magnuson reports that your bio-ship has gone into what she refers to a 'regenerative stasis'. She has returned to the Watchtower to consult with M'arzz on the matter."

Harry sighed, "Can she tell how long it'll take?"

"Apparently not," replied Hank. "Until then, you will be limited to _Anastasia_ and _Zylbat_ or the Zeta Tubes, as the _H'L'umm_ and the other _Th'rkks_ are tied up on other cases."

"Harry, what's going on? Where are we?" asked Ginny. "I'm confused..."

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted," confessed Harry. "We're in a Justice League safe-house near my guardian's house."

"Justice League?"

"It's a global defence group associated with the United Nations, an Muggle political group a bit like the International Confederation of Wizards."

"Harry! The Statute...!"

"Doesn't apply," Harry retorted. "The League isn't entirely Muggle and has acted in the interests of Magical World against mutual threats on several occasions."

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome," replied Hank. A beeping noise distracted him and he wandered over to one of the walls, where what looked like a giant portrait made of oddly smooth Muggle materials and touched a panel on the desk below. "Harry, our liaison at British Ministry of Magic has made contact with Miss Weasley's father. He has agreed to meet up with us at the Consulting Room. Professor Marks is also on his way."

"The Consulting Room?"

"Another Justice League safe-house in London," replied Hank. "For various reasons of historical nostalgia and security, we prefer to use it as our meeting place for encounters with your Ministry, rather risk compromising one of our more critical facilities."

An orange-and-black blur sped past the front of the cave and coalesced into a vaguely familiar figure, the same dark-skinned teenager who'd been on the 'bio-ship' with Harry, now dressed more formally in loose trousers, tunic and headscarf. "Harry, I couldn't find much in the spare clothing vault in Ginny's size, but I hope this is all right?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Maz," said Harry, indicating that she should hand them over and then headed over to where the old man was standing to give them a little privacy.

Ginny quickly switched her damaged clothes for the offered Muggle t-shirt and tracksuit, which were rather loose fit but comfortable, and the new Muggle trainers which were rather less so, but wearable. "I'm ready."

"Then let's go," said Harry, joining them again. "Maz, take point. Scout out the area, make sure there are no 'surprises'."

"On it," agreed Maz and sped towards an archway on the opposite side of the cave which immediately lit up in a strange blue light.

 _"Recognised, Rush Hour B135,"_ A strange, inhuman voice declared, and then she heard a whirring sound and the Indian girl disappeared in a flash of blue-white light.

"What, the...?" exclaimed Ginny.

"A Muggle form of transportation similar to the Floo Network," Harry told her. "It's perfectly safe."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely," confirmed Harry. "I use it regularly. Shall we get going?"

"Please," Ginny replied, looking forward to being back to the familiar and followed Harry over the arch. There was an odd blue panel floating in mid-air next to it, Harry prodded the panel a few times and a beam of blue light came out of the arch and ran up and down Ginny's body for a second.

"Ready," declared Harry, and held out a hand to Ginny, who took it gratefully. "Hank, I'll see you later." he said, then walked forward and guiding Ginny through the arch.

The mystery voice declared, " _Recognised, Squire B134. Recognised, Ginny Weasley G96."_ Then the same whirring sound started up and blue-white light enveloped them.

* * *

 _A/N: Oh dear, Ginny is not having a good day is she? Rest assured, current evidence to the contrary, I_ do _actually like the character and things will be getting better for her soon. The first of the canon YJ characters may be along in the next chapter, but it will probably be a while before all of the planned cameos occur. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and I will try and answer any questions that don't reveal_ too much _of my plans._


	2. Chapter 2: London

.  
 **  
Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 2: London**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the Harry Potter series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books, two of which is touched upon in this chapter, and others that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from Young Justice (2011), but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the 'New Tens' as screened, and is fairly heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result._

* * *

 **The Burrow  
Ottery St Catchpole  
1st May, 0850 BST, 305 AS**

"Mister Weasley, are you there?" asked a blond-haired woman as her head popped into view in the kitchen fireplace in a burst of green flames.

"I'm here, Miss Cross," confirmed Arthur. "Do you need anything?"

"Good morning," said Miss Cross. "Can you come in early? Madame Bones needs to talk with you urgently."

"What, why?" asked Molly.

"Something happened over night, Madame Bones will explain," Miss Cross insisted. "I can't say any more, I've got to go." With that she withdrew her head, and the fire settled back to it's normal yellow-orange hue seconds later.

"Arthur, Ginny's not back from the Lovegoods' yet, you don't think...?" asked Molly, her voice trembling slightly.

"Don't worry, Molly," said Arthur, as he swallowed his last mouthful of breakfast and grabbed his cloak. "I'm sure Ginny's fine. I'll let you know what's going on as I know anything."

"I'll try," Molly assured him, then kissed him on the cheek as he headed for the back door, then as soon as he was outside, Disapparated from Ottery St Catchpole with a loud crack.

* * *

 **Ministry of Magic  
London SW1  
1st May, 0855 BST**

Seconds later, Arthur reappeared in the Atrium of the Ministry, and then dashed towards the lifts, squeezing into one of the carriages. The grilles slid shut with a crash just as he got inside and the lift ascended slowly, chains rattling as usual.

" _Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office._ "

The lift doors opened. One of the wizards in the lift, who was carrying an armful of broomsticks, extricated himself with difficulty and disappeared down the corridor. The doors closed, the lift juddered upwards again and the woman's voice announced:

 _"Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office and Apparation Test Centre._ "

Once again the lift doors opened and four or five witches and wizards got out; at the same time, several inter-departmental memos swooped into the lift. As they clattered upwards again the memos flapped around the lamp swaying from the lift's ceiling.

 _"Level Five, Department of International Magical Co-operation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats._ "

When the doors opened, two of the memos zoomed out with a few more of the witches and wizards, but several more memos zoomed in, so that the light from the lamp flickered and flashed overhead as they darted around it.

 _"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau._ "

Two witches got out and a slightly rumpled elderly man got in. The doors clanged shut yet again.

" _Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, including the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee._ "

Everybody left the lift on this floor except Arthur and a wizard with a huge stack of parchments he recognised from Wizengamot Administration. The remaining memos continued to soar around the lamp as the lift juddered upwards again, then the doors opened and the voice made its final announcement.

"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."

Both wizards left the lift, separating and going in opposite directions outside. Arthur stalked towards the heavy oak doors of Auror Headquarters and pushed them open, then hurried through the bullpen and the second set of doors at the back and stopped outside the office labelled Office of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Arthur knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in." He opened the door and entered. Miss Cross was back at her desk and nodded to him. "Mister Weasley, good morning again. You can go right in, Madam Bones is expecting you."

"Thank you, Miss Cross," said Arthur, then crossed to the inner door behind the desk and entered.

"Good morning, Amelia," said Arthur, facing his boss, one of his few remaining supporters and the only reason he still had a job, never mind an office. "What's going on?"

Amelia was sitting behind her own desk, and a pink-haired young woman Arthur vaguely recognised as one of her junior Aurors was sitting in one of the two chairs in front of it. "Have a seat, Arthur. Do you know Nymphadora Tonks?"

"We've met in passing," Arthur admitted. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"First, I'd like to assure you, everything is fine," Amelia said. "There was an 'incident' after the Harpies-Vixens game, your daughter got caught up in it."

"What! Is she all right?" Arthur yelled, panicking. "Was she injured, where is she?!"

"Some minor injuries apparently," admitted Amelia. "She was picked up by a group attached to the Vlatavan camp due to the presence of their queen at the match."

Arthur sighed in relief, it wasn't _quite_ as bad as he'd feared."What group, the _Regala Grupul de Protecție_ , the _Zoloto Korpus_...?"

"No, neither of those," Amelia said. "Tonks?"

"They're called the Justice League," replied Tonks. "They started out as an American group about thirty-five years ago, but have branched out since, mostly here and in Western Europe. We found out about them about during the War, when Aurors were called to an attack by..." At this point, she consulted a stack of parchments in front of her "...'green-skinned troll creatures' that turned out to be something called a 'Parademon', and one of their members helped with taking it down."

"I've never heard about You-Know-Who having anything like that?"

"That's because he didn't, Mister Weasley," said Tonks. "According to the Justice League files, they actually belonged to someone called 'Darkseid', but Minister Bagnold wasn't interested in hearing about that and it was hushed up."

Arthur nodded, as much as he might like to _believe_ that the Ministry was always above board and had the public's interest at heart, he realised long ago that that wasn't the case. "But I assume you found out and have been keeping in contact?"

Amelia nodded, "I found the files buried in the back of a filing cabinet when I inherited this office. Tonks has been my go-between since she joined the Ministry."

"Since she joined the Aurors?" asked Arthur.

"No, since she finished at Hogwarts," clarified Amelia. "The League has a large youth program and their shape-shifters were able to help her with some issues she was having."

"Yeah, thanks to Gar, I aced Stealth and Tracking!" exclaimed Tonks. "Otherwise I'd've been lucky to scrape a pass." She paused for a moment, then turned back to Amelia. "Madam Bones, Mister Hackenbacker reports that Miss Weasley should be awakening shortly and asks that I bring Mister Weasley to the usual meeting place as soon as possible..." she tailed off slightly. "And Professor Marks has been asked to step in, as our usual contacts are busy."

"Then I suggest you get a move on, Tonks," said Amelia. "Professor Marks is _not_ someone I would want to get on the wrong side of."

"Agreed." Tonks replied with a tone that suggesting there was a story there, and probably _not_ one he would enjoy hearing about. "I can leave right now. Mister Weasley?"

"Can I send a message to Molly first?"

Tonks nodded, then moved to leave. "Is there anything else, Madam Bones?"

"No, thank you," replied Amelia. "Report to Shacklebolt after you've finished, he thinks there may have been a development on the Black case and needs some help running it down. Arthur, I assume your desk is clear?"

"Nothing that can't wait."

"Then you're dismissed, take the rest of the day off."

"Thank you, Madam Bones," replied Arthur and then rose and followed Tonks out of the office.

* * *

 **Regent's Park  
London NW1  
1st May, 0915 BST**

They reappeared in a secluded part of Regent's Park with a double crack. Arthur turned to Tonks,"Where now?"

"It's just a bit up the road, we can walk from here," replied Tonks. "Follow me."

Arthur followed her around the boating lake and then out of the street exit onto a two-lane Muggle road which doubled back on itself after a moment. A couple of minutes later, they stopped outside a Muggle sandwich shop. Tonks knocked on the front door of the house next door. An elderly woman opened the door and smiled at her. "Miss Tonks, it is nice to see you again. Who is your friend?"

Tonks looked a little chagrined, "Good morning, Mrs Walbrook. This is Arthur Weasley, he work's at Madam Bones' office with me."

"Pleased to meet you, Mister Weasley," replied Mrs Walbrook. "Professor Marks is waiting for you." She shuddered a little. "Will you be staying long?"

Arthur looked at Tonks. "We just need to pick up his daughter and read them in on the Justice League," said Tonks, but then her expression shifted. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing really, it's not nice of me to say it, but..." Mrs Walbrook said, standing to one side to allow them to enter. Then she bend over and whispered. "That _woman_ gives me the creeps."

Arthur wasn't quite sure to make of this, but he decided that saying nothing was probably the safest option and followed Tonks up the stairs, they climbed up two flights of stairs and then she turned to face the door onto the second floor. A beam of light stabbed out from the peep-hole in the door, then a odd voice announced, " _Recognised Tonks A58._ "

"Request guest access for Arthur Weasley, Ministry of Magic." announced Tonks.

" _Acknowledged_ ," replied the voice. There was a loud artificial buzz and the door swung open allowing them to enter." _Access granted, Arthur Weasley G97_. _Authorisation Tonks A58._ "

Arthur followed Tonks into the sitting room of the flat, initially he thought it was empty, but then another voice changed his mind.

"Arthur Weasley, I presume?" asked a woman's voice from off to one side.

Arthur turned and regarded the voice. She was a red-head, about the same age as his eldest, Bill, and about the same height and build as his son's fiancée, Fleur, but with an aura far stronger and darker than the other woman. He nodded. "Professor Marks?"

"Kathryn Marks, yes," agreed the woman, and then indicated a pair of chairs near the fireplace. "Have a seat. Your daughter and her escort will be along shortly. Tea?"

Arthur wasn't entirely convinced by the woman's friendly demeanour, but saw no reason to be rude or antagonise her so he sat down and took the cup she offered. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tonks do the same.

"Professor, do you have anything on the attackers?" asked Tonks. "Madam Bones is being stonewalled by the _Magilovkontoret_ and she needs answers before the Minister and _The Daily Prophet_ start asking questions."

"A little," admitted Professor Marks. "One of the Rush Hours managed to snag Hauteur and Vlemma of the Hellraisers – a European criminal group - when they tried to assassinate _Tsarina_ Perdita, probably paid by her uncle, _Komit_ Vertigo. He escaped jail during the Apokolips War of '73 and he's been trying to get back the throne every few years since. The white-robed wizards slinging Exploding Hexes and Killing Curses were _Zuiverheid_ , Dutch extremists that play both sides of the Statue of Secrecy."

"Not Death Eaters... you're sure?" urged Tonks.

"A similar animal, but somewhat more pragmatic and unlikely to cause any problems in Britain unless 'motivated' to do so." Professor Marks assured her. "Nightrunner and Firebird are conducting further investigations, I will keep you informed."

"Thanks," said Tonks, reaching over for the teapot to refill her cup. "Arthur?"

"That would nice, thank you," said Arthur, reaching over with his cup, which he almost dropped in surprise when the door buzzed open again (" _Recognised Rush Hour B134._ ") and then a split second later a girl materialised in the corner of his eye a moment later and then disappeared before the door could swing shut or he could get a better look "What?!"

"Rush Hour," sighed the Professor. "A capable fighter, but not subtle. Your daughter is on her way. In the mean time, we have a proposal for you..."

* * *

 **The Burrow  
Ottery St Catchpole  
1st May, 1030 BST**

"Absolutely not! I _forbid_ it!"

"But, Molly, I think they..."

"I can't believe you're even considering this!"

"Mum, why can't I..."

"YOU'VE CAUSED ENOUGH TROUBLE FOR ONE DAY, YOUNG LADY, GO UP TO YOUR ROOM AND STAY THERE UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN LEAVE!"

"But, Mum..."

"I think it might be best if you went upstairs, Ginny," said Arthur. "We'll talk about this later."

"NO, WE WON'T!" demanded Molly. "THERE WILL BE _NO_ MORE DISCUSSION! AND STAY AWAY FROM THE LOVEGOODS, THEY'RE _OBVIOUSLY_ TO DANGEROUS FOR YOU TO BE AROUND!"

"Then what am I...?"

"Ginny, later," Arthur said, firmly. "This isn't helping."

"Fine!" groaned Ginny, then stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"HOW DARE YOU SLAM THAT DOOR!" yelled Molly. "COME BACK AND APOLOGISE _RIGHT NOW_!"

"Molly, you need to calm down," Arthur told her. "I understand your concerns but, I really think we should consider it?"

"NO!" screamed Molly, then the air seemed to go out of her and she dropped to the floor. "I can't lose anyone else... I can't..."

"I know, Molly... I know..." said Arthur, talking her into his arms and rocking her reassuringly. As much as he didn't agree with her position, he could tell she'd made up her mind and knew her well enough to know that unless something major changed she wasn't going to change it...

* * *

 **Ministry of Magic  
London SW1  
10th May, 1355 BST**

Arthur was on his way back to his desk from lunch, when a familiar pink-haired woman bumped into him, causing him to drop the parchments he was carrying.

"Hi Mr Weasley!" Tonks said brightly. "Can I help you with those?"

"I'll be fine," said Mr Weasley, as he bent to pick them up. "Hi, Tonks, what are you up to?"

"Just running some errands for Robards," she replied. "How's Ginny doing?"

Arthur sighed as he stood up, "Not that well to be honest, Tonks. She's been having nightmares about the Chamber again, and Svalbard. I don't think she's had a full night's sleep since. It doesn't help that Molly's got really over-protective and won't let her out of her sight."

"I've got a letter for her," said Tonks, fishing a Muggle envelope out of her robes. "From Rush Hour, it's her birthday tomorrow and the Team is having a big bash at the Orchard. She was wondering if Ginny would like to come."

"I'm sure Ginny would love to get out of the house for the while, though Molly might take a bit of persuading..." admitted Arthur, but accepted the letter and tucked it into an internal pocket of his briefcase anyway.

"I hope you can, it'll be nice to see her again, she's a good kid."

" _TONKS!_ "

"Oops, got to go!" said Tonks, and ran off towards the voice, tripping twice before she reached Robards' cubicle and went inside.

Arthur smiled, Tonks was a good kid herself, if a little clumsy.

 _I'll try and get some time with Amelia and ask her about 'The Orchard' but I've got a good feeling about this..._

* * *

 _A/N.: Both the Regala Grupul de Protecție (Vlatvan Royal Protection Group) and the Zoloto Korpus (Russian Auror Corps) are my own invention and at least the latter may pop up again in the series. As it turns out_ _the planned cameos have been delayed, but at least one should be along in the next few chapters. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and I will try and answer any questions that don't reveal_ too much _of my plans._


	3. Chapter 3: Learning to Cope

.  
 **  
Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 3: Learning to Cope**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the_ DC Comics _elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the New Tens as screened, and is fairly heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result._

 _A/N: I'm trying something different in this chapter as it combines several different PoVs for a more_ Young Justice _-style narrative rather than the single PoV approach of_ Harry Potter.

* * *

The Burrow  
Ottery St Catchpole  
13th June, 0600 BST, 305 AS

 _It's nice to wake up_ after _the sun,_ thought Ginny to herself as she slipped out of her bed and then after pulling on her running clothes, tied her hair back out of the way, and grabbing the resized trainers that Harry's friend Maz had given her, she crept out of her room, trying her best not to wake her bushy-haired room-mate as she left. _The sessions with Alanna are definitely helping. I'm glad that Mum agreed to let me see her.  
_ _  
_On her way through the kitchen she grabbed a bottle of water and sat down for a moment to put on her shoes, then she was out the door in the gradually-warming early morning air, she stopped for a few minutes to stretch-out and warm up her muscles and then set off at an easy jogging pace that took her off the property within seconds and half-way to the village within moments.

She stopped for a breather in the graveyard of St Catchpole's and then set off again, still breathing a little more heavily as she hit her second mile and was definitely sweating and out of breath by the time she'd completed her full three miles and was back at the Burrow about a hour after she left.

By the time she'd cooled down and entered the kitchen, her mother was up and she had started breakfast, she shook her hand slightly at Ginny's appearance. "I still don't understand why they've got you doing all this running and exercise. It seems like a waste of time to me."

"I know that, Mum," said Ginny, rolling her eyes. "But it makes me feel stronger and more confident, surely that's a _good_ thing?"

"I suppose so," admitted her mum, but Ginny could tell that she _still_ wasn't convinced. "I just don't want you getting your hopes up. Go and get showered. Breakfast will be on the table in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay, Mum," said Ginny, then left the kitchen and headed upstairs to the bathroom.

By the time she'd showered and changed into a t-shirt and jeans, her dad and Hermione were also awake and dressed and at the table in the kitchen ready for breakfast themselves. "Morning, Ginny."

"Morning, Dad," said Ginny, as she helped herself to some juice. "Morning, Hermione. Hope I didn't wake you when I went out?"

"No, I only woke a few minutes ago," Hermione admitted. "Do you always go out early for a run?"

"Not always," Ginny replied. "When I go to COR for 'school', I get more than enough exercise in the gym."

"So you're not going over there today?" Hermione asked as Molly began to serve up breakfast.

Ginny shook her head, helping herself to some bacon and eggs and toast. "Today's a 'light' day, Alanna wants to see me at her office to talk about my therapy at nine, and I'll do a couple of jobs around the farm for her, then I'll be back."

"How's that been going, has she been able to help you? When I heard about your nightmares I was worried..."

"A lot of people were _worried_ , Hermione," Ginny said shortly, as she began to attack her breakfast with gusto. "Alanna and Kathryn were the first people to actually help. Thanks to them, I'm sleeping a full night's sleep again and I'm learning some magic and Muggle fighting to protect _myself_ too."

"Ginny, you know that we were only..." Her mum said.

"Trying to 'protect' me?" Ginny said. "Yeah, I know... I've heard."

"Ginny!" said Hermione. Her dad looked a little awkward, but said nothing.

"No, Hermione, I've heard it all," Ginny snapped. "The best person to protect me is _me_. My 'protective' family spent weeks trying to stop me from going to the sessions at COR and the Orchard designed to make me strong enough to _do_ that!"

Ron stumbled into the kitchen at this point. He looked around in confusion at the angry faces around the table, then shrugged and sat down next to Hermione and started eating. "Do you think we could play some Quidditch later?"

"Sure, Ron," replied Ginny, glad for the change of subject. "I'll be back early afternoon. Got to make sure you're ready for the new session, _Captain_."

"I haven't got the badge yet, Ginny," Ron replied. "McGonagall might pick someone else."

"Who? You've been on the team longer than any of the others and well... Dean or Demelza might have the brains for it, but you you know a lot more about Quidditch than either of them."

"Thanks, Ginny," said Ron, smiling broadly. Hermione quickly lost the frown she'd been wearing in the face of the filial support she was seeing.

"I'm rooting for you. You deserve it."

* * *

The Orchard  
Royctonshire  
13th June, 0845 BST

" _Recognised Ginny Weasley G96,"_ announced the computer as she reappeared in the Orchard's Game Room in a flash of blue-white light. The Montrose boys had already left for school, then headed up out of the basement to the main level of the house.

"Alanna?"

"In the kitchen!"

Taking it as a invitation, Ginny headed forward through the door into the kitchen, rather than left in the study as usual. Alanna was sitting at the big scrubbed pine table in the middle of the kitchen, finishing her breakfast cup of tea over a copy of the Muggle _Rocyton News._ "Do you want a cup?"

"Thanks," said Ginny.

"Cups are in the cupboard over the cooker. There's plenty of bread in the bin too. Help yourself."

Ginny did so, then joined the woman – who reminded her of the best bits of both her parents, her father's quiet, gentle patience and her mother's unfailing need to welcome and nurture people – at her table and enjoyed the tea until the kitchen clock ticked over to 'nine' and they rose and moved in Alanna's study. Alanna motioned Ginny into one of her easy chairs and then pulled up Ginny's file on the computer. "Before we get into what I wanted to talk about, how do _you_ think you are?"

"I'm sleeping better," Ginny offered. "The physical training's taken some getting used to. I doubt I'll be able to keep up with the Rush Hours, Bunny or even Bilal any time soon, but I'm feeling and more confident and I'm pretty sure I won't freeze up or panic and run next time I end up in danger."

Alanna nodded. "You'll be pleased to know that your trainers and I broadly speaking agree with you. You've resolved your immediate issues that are causing the nightmares, and the best way to deal with your more deep-seating issues is, as you've previously put it 'to make sure you feel that you can protect yourself'."

"I _need_ to be strong, I _can't_ be a victim again!"

Alanna nodded. "I know, I know..." she said calmly, reassuringly. "And it's probably the best strategy for now. However, I assume that your family doesn't agree?"

"They say they want to 'protect me', but they never really _do_ anything to _help_ me. So I want to help _myself_."

"Which is good, and you've made good progress in such a short time. In relation to that, Rachel would like to schedule your final assessment for next week if that would suit?"

Ginny shrugged, "Haven't exactly got much else going on."

"Be at COR on Monday for 0800. Pack for five days."

"Will do," agreed Ginny. "Have we got the results back for those school tests I took?"

Alanna nodded, "You passed the Key Stage 2 exams, which is a bit behind your normal age group, but not unexpected given your background. Gwen feels that you could back on track by the end of the next school year. She's very proud of you."

"Tell her thanks for me. She's a good teacher."

"I will," Alanna confirmed with a smile. "Was there any _you_ wanted to discuss?"

Ginny shook her head. "Do you need me do anything around the farm today? Ron would like to do some practise later, and I said I'd help him?"

"Nothing major. There's still plenty of picking that needs doing, of course." Alanna admitted. "Can you put in a couple of hours on the strawberries for me?"

Ginny nodded, "They're pretty easy. Should I split up the good and bad ones?"

Alanna appeared to consider it, "Throw away any rotten ones, but any ripe ones should be all right for selling as is, or cider and jam-making at the moment. And of course leave any unripe ones on the vines for now."

"Will do. You'll owl me through Harry or Kathryn when my assessment's set up?"

"It'll be Kathryn, or I'll leave a message at COR," Alanna told her. "Harry's still chasing that new Lost Boys gang."

"I hope he catches them, or better yet their boss," said Ginny. "Dosing someone with drugs and then forcing them to commit crimes is _horrible_." She shivered, then grinned brightly. "I'll get on those strawberries."

* * *

Micel Sceotan Youth Club  
Gaverton  
16th June, 1300 BST

Harry scowled at the pale, bleached-blond face that confronted him in the mirror of the dingy, public men's room of the hall. " _Squire to Observatory, Marbles just arrived._ "

" _Copy that, accessing local surveillance and Delphi for the area._ " replied Rapport. " _Can you get a good spot inside_?"

" _Not a problem, I've been hustling the local kids for pocket money for a week now. I'm part of the background._ "

" _Excellent_ ," said Rapport. " _Talk to you again soon_."

Harry turned off the tap and then headed back into the main room and headed for his usual within earshot of the table where Marbles, one of the Lost Boys' lieutenants, was sitting enjoying a double order of burger and fries. A moment or two later, Darkclaw and one of Montrose's usual 'heavies' dragged a youth in mechanics overalls over to the table and forced him into the chair opposite Marbles.

"Have you got those plans for me?" demanded Marbles, as Harry broke a new frame. "Or do I have to get hasty?"

"I-I've g-g-got them..." stammered the short, red-headed youth and handled over a small, electronic tablet. "I-i-it's c-c-coming in t-t-tomorrow a-a-at six."

"You better not be lying to me, Murphy," warned Marbles. "Or my boys might have to play with your old lady."

"L-l-leave her alone... I've done what you asked!" begged Murphy.

"Give him a preview, boys, and get him out here. He's ruining my lunch!"

Once Darkclaw and his 'partner' had dragged Murphy out of the room and Marbles' had returned to his lunch, Harry pulled out his mobile and used a Delphi app to hack Marbles' tablet and download the single file on it and transfer it to the Observatory for analysis.

He hung around for another hour or so, hustled another three 'marks' on the tables, and headed out of the building a few minutes after Marbles waddled out the club.

* * *

The Observatory  
Sutton-in-Ashfield  
1500 BST

Harry entered through reception, nodded to the young woman at the desk and she buzzed him through to the meeting room that they had set up for the investigation. Maddy was sitting at the computer bank as usual.

"What have you got?" asked Harry. "We haven't got much time."

"A fair bit," replied Maddy. "Maz is tailing Marbles, I think we can locate his place at least... and the file you lifted are the security codes and flight plans in and out of Robin Hood. I'm trying figure out the most likely target. Watchtower is running the data too."

The monitor pinged. "We've got them. Gaverton Tech has a shipment of Rokynian sun-stones coming tomorrow. That'll be the target."

"I agree," said Harry. "Contact Watchtower and SCOPE, we'll need tactical support standing by. I _do not_ want Sprite getting away this time."

"Me neither."

* * *

The Watchtower  
Earth Orbit  
17th June, 1300 EDT

The bald man contemplated the tri-dimensional chess hologram floating next to his chair. _Queen to C5 Neutral._

 _Checkmate,_ sighed his chess partner. _I don't get it, I'm in your_ mind _, how can I lose_?!

 _We've been playing for_ years _, why are you still surprised_?

 _I'm an eternal optimist_? she offered.

 _More like a sucker for punishment,_ he suggested, dryly.

 _We could always play something else_?

" _Squire to Watchtower, Come in..._ Priority Red!"

 _Let's put a pin in that for now,_ said the bald man. "Go ahead, Squire."

" _The Lost Boys have made us! We need backup now! We're at Robin Hood Airport on the flight-line!_ "

"Understood," confirmed the bald man. "The Spartans have alerted. I'm also sending some Leaguers."

" _Make it fa..._ arghh!" said Squire, his message cut off by a scream of pain.

"Squire, do you copy...? Come in!" barked the bald man. He glanced over to the ready room, then tapped a short message into his seat arm controls. "Kara, Moshe, Bunny, get in here!"

A black youth in a dark-grey full length speed-suit, a Jewish man in blue, and an blond woman in jeans and a white top rushed in. "Echo Squad has just been made by the Lost Boys... Moshe, Bunny, get them out of there! Kara, Sprite does _not_ escape this time!"

"On our way!" confirmed Kara and sped for the Zeta Tube with M'Bumase only a little behind her. Moshe generated a wind funnel around himself and flew after them.

" _Recognized Power Woman 101, Recognized Impala 120, Recognized Dust Devil 103,_ " declared the computer, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

"Watchtower to STAR Labs Taos."

 _"Go ahead."_

"I need a medical team up here, immediately! Multiple casualties, unknown injuries!"

" _Understood. Dr Pierce is on-site, she'll be with you in ten. I'll also page Dr Copper and Miss Devonshire as well._ "

"Watchtower, standing by," confirmed the bald man.

He sat there in a tense silence for a few moments, almost tempted a couple of times to fire up the Zeta Tube and head down there himself, but knowing that he needed to trust his people and maintain his post.

" _Recognized Rush Hour B133, Recognized Rapport B143,_ " declared the computer and disgorged two members of Echo Squad.

He cast an wary eye over the two girls, but they appeared to be in reasonable shape. "Are the others on the way? Did you get them?"

"The Spartans picked up Marbles at their hideout. And we snagged Reynard and Jackrabbit at the airport..." said Rush Hour.

"But Sprite got away, _again!_ " growled Maddy, which startled him, as she wasn't generally known for angry outbursts.

" _Recognized Squire B132, Recognized Darkclaw B136_ ," declared the computer as the last two members of the Squad arrived back on the Watchtower. Eddie, who was partially transformed into the clawed, snake-skinned biped form that gave him his code-name, was – like the girls – mostly uninjured, but Harry was cradling his right arm in an odd position. The seventeen year-old's face didn't betray anything, but he'd worked with enough members of the Bat Family to recognize when someone with high pain tolerances was badly injured.

"Eddie, take him to the medical bay. Dr Pierce is on her way up."

The reptilian teen nodded and half-dragged, half-carried his injured team leader out of the room.

"I'll access the local surveillance net," offered Maddy. "Maybe we'll get lucky and I can trace that... woman."

He didn't hold out much hope, but he didn't see the harm, even with Power Woman in pursuit, so he nodded his consent. "Maddy, don't spend too long on it though, you need some rest."

"I'll rest later," said the brunette girl grimly.

"I'm sure you will," he agreed. "But the Myrashian freighter _Chuqal_ passed the Kuiper Belt perimeter about an hour ago. They'll be landing on Thursday at 0500 your time, for your trip to Colu."

Her expression shifted completely into the happy, smiling face he was more used to seeing on the fifteen year-old. "That's great! Have you...?"

"Your mother has been informed, she will meet you at Heathrow with most of your luggage. With the exception of any personal items still on the Watchtower."

Maddy nodded slightly, then turned to her remaining teammate, "Maz, can you check the dorm for my purple go-bag... the sparkly one? I think it's got my spare uniform and computer gloves in it."

"Will do," confirmed the Hindu speedster and disappeared in a blur.

Apparently satisfied that preparations for her exchange trip were well in hand, Maddy returned her attention to the main computer bank and began scanning the surveillance feeds.

 _Can we 'take the pin out' yet?_

 _Maybe later._

* * *

 _A/N.: Special and Central Operations for Policing and Enforcement (SCOPE) is a fictional agency merging the Metropolitan Police's specialist units with various national intelligence and enforcement units into one agency, the Spartans are their tactical branch, replacing the SAS Counter Revolutionary Warfare Wing as the UK's lead domestic heavy tactical unit. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and I will try and answer any questions that don't reveal too much of my plans._


	4. Chapter 4: Making the Grade

.  
 **  
Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 4: Making the Grade**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the_ DC Comics _elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the New Tens as screened, and is fairly heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result._

 _I'm trying something different in this chapter as it combines several different PoVs for a more_ Young Justice _-style narrative rather than the single PoV approach of_ Harry Potter.

 _Due to multiple reviews raising the issue, I'd like to make it clear that unless stated otherwise, the action of this story takes place in the run up to and during the 1997-1998 school year (parallel to the events of Deathly Hallows in canon)._

* * *

 **Centre for Organised Research  
Herefordshire WD3  
16** **th** **June, 0750 BST, 305 AS**

"Welcome to Final Assessment, Miss Weasley," said the taller (tallest) of the three adults – a lean, Muslim man in black combats and a purple t-shirt with a pair of dark glasses covering his eyes - at the head of the room when Ginny entered the training room at the Centre about forty-six hours later. "Please take a seat and we'll begin."

"Thank you, sir," said Ginny, and moved to the only vacant chair at the table, between an Arab boy and a Hispanic girl, both – indeed all seven of the kids around the table – looked to be at least a bit younger than Ginny herself, probably about thirteen or fourteen, which wasn't surprised as from what she'd heard that was about average.

"Welcome to the Centre for Organised Research, my name is Nightrunner, current co-Vice Chairman of the Justice and Field Commander for the EMEA," He turned to the other two adults with him. "These are my assistants, and your trainers, Bulldog and Rachel Feldmann. The eight of you wish to become members of The Team, this is a noble goal and we thank you for your offer to serve, however, issues that arose during the early years, lead to the rule that rigorous assessments of each candidate must take place before their name can be put to the vote. Currently, there are two candidates on the list for the next vote, typically no more than five are expected during any given intake, however with three of the current team unavailable we may recruit more."

"I can save you some time, sir. You can cut three immediately."

"And which three would that be, Mister Aslam?" asked Nightrunner.

"I would have thought that was obvious, sir?"

Ginny agreed that the implication was fairly obvious, and a glance over Nightrunner's assistant Rachael, a leanly-muscled twenty-something brunette - who was now looking that the Asian boy with an expression that she'd seen on the twins before - suggested that _she_ thought it was too.

"Perhaps," admitted Nightrunner, then – as Aslam's expression shifted to a smug grin – he added. "And completely inappropriate. Any further comments will impact negatively on your assessment. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Moving on then... the four days will be quite possibly some of the most exhausting and challenging of your life. As we decided to give you a nice lie-in this morning, the agenda today will be a little shorter. In a few moments, we will moving the 'fitness suite' for your medical and fitness assessments. Then at oh-nine hundred, we will return here for the first of your classroom-based assessments - topics will include surveillance and counter-surveillance, investigation and first aid - these will run until fourteen hundred, when you have lunch, then you will run the basic obstacle course and will be given to demonstrate your hand-to-hand combat skills. Dinner is at twenty hundred hours, then you will run the obstacle course again until twenty-two hundred, when I suggest you clean up and get ready for bed."

"Tuesday and Wednesday you will rise at rise at oh-five forty-five. At oh-six hundred, you will hit the pool, for your swimming assessment. At oh-seven fifteen, you will have breakfast, followed by additional combat and physical assessments at oh-seven thirty, until your academic phase restarts at oh-nine hundred. At fourteen hundred, you will have lunch, then several runs of the obstacle course and sparring until dinner. On Wednesday, there will be a repeat of the night run of the obstacle course, but on Thursday, you will taken the SCOPE Urban Warfare 'test village' where you will be engage in a 'live fire' exercise against a squad from the Scopers, armed with stun weapons and other equipment. You will have only your powers, so this will allow us to gauge your ability to use them in a stressful but contained situation. The exercise will conclude at ten hundred hours, at which point you will return here for your final medical assessments and then will be allowed to return home. Any questions?"

"When do we sleep?" asked another of the boys, a Hispanic.

"During the exercise?" clarified Nightrunner. "I suggest you _don't_ , Mister Arquero, at least not all at once. That will lead to your inevitable capture and negatively affect your assessment."

The Hispanic didn't look overly thrilled about that revelation, but frankly it didn't bother Ginny all that much, she'd managed for _weeks_ without a decent night's sleep, she was fairly sure – even with the extra activity – that she could manage a couple nights of limited sleep and one night none.

"How do we 'pass'?" asked one of the other two girls.

"While a poor result in individual elements will not be viewed favourably, as long as you complete the next hundred hours, then you will have 'passed'. Are there are any further questions?" he paused for a moment. "Then let's begin."

* * *

 **The Salt-Water Pool  
Centre for Organised Research  
Herefordshire WD3  
18** **th** **June, 0650 BST**

 _On the other hand, I might have been mistaken,_ thought Ginny as she doggedly ploughed through the clear, but slightly, briny waters of the Centre's pool.

"Ten minute warning!" announced Bulldog from the sidelines.

 _Just a few more strokes..._ thought Ginny, stretching out a hand to touch the side of the pool. _Fifty-three!_ She gasped mentally, then flipped around and pushed off against the wall and sped back up the pool, diving under the shallow waves splashing across the surface.

"Five minutes!"

 _Fifty-nine..._

"One minute!"

 _Sixty-two,_ thought Ginny, as she turned in the water and surged up the pool back towards the bottom end of the pool.

"Thirty seconds!" bellowed Bulldog. "If you don't finish the length, kids... it doesn't count! Twenty five... twenty... fifteen... ten... five..."

Ginny touched off and then relaxed against the wall. _Sixty-three._

"Time's up..." bellowed Bulldog and blew his whistle. "Breakfast in fifteen minutes, make the most of it!" He told them, and then he crossed to an automatic door at the side of the pool and left.

Ginny heaved herself out of the pool, then waddled over to the scoreboard by the exit that recorded the distances that she and her competitors had done in the last hour. She wasn't surprised to see that she hadn't done the best – that was Amanda, who had managed three thousand, three hundred fifty metres, and then Yusuf who'd beat her own score by about fifty metres - but she'd blown past that muscle-bound idiot Arquero who'd only managed two-thousand eight hundred.

Shaking her head slightly, she reached back and pulled her hair out of its ponytail and then headed towards the exit into the locker room. She paused under the one of the shower-heads built into the entrance and stopped to rinse off her hair and tri-suit, unzipping the front of the suit to allow some clean water under the suit. She was nearly done, when someone came up behind her and knocked into her, she slipped on the wet floor and went down on one knee.

"Get out of my way, _puta_!"snarled the figure and stepped on her outstretched hand.

"Ouch!" screamed Ginny. "That hurt!" She glanced up, and wasn't surprised to see that Arquero was striding into the locker room. _I'd love to kick that git's arse! Maybe Yusuf'll let me swap with him for a session..._ she thought as she clambered to her feet and left the shower corridor, shivering slightly as she was hit by the draft from the body-dryer built into the archway into the locker room.

Fortunately for both of them, Arquero had already disappeared from the room by the time she made it to there. She crossed to her locker and pulled out her tracksuit, stepping quickly into the trousers and then pulled on the zip-up jacket, leaving it hanging open. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. _0710, I'd better get going,_ she thought as she stepped into her trainers and retied her ponytail. Now dressed and presentable, she hurried out of the locker room towards the cafeteria.

* * *

 **SCOPE Urban Warfare Compound**  
 **Herefordshire WD3  
20** **th** **June, 0550 BST**

"Only about four hours to go," observed Elena, as she and Ginny were skirted around an abandoned building, trying to make it to the exit point without being spotted. "I'm exhausted, you?"

"I've been worse," said Ginny.

"Really?"

In the dim light, it was difficult to see the younger girl's expression, but Ginny thought she didn't _sound_ terribly convinced. "After I got caught up in terrorist attack in Svalbard, I didn't sleep probably for about a month."

"I heard about that... it was during the assassination attempt on Queen Perdita, right?"

Ginny nodded, "Not the first time, either."

Elena looked like she wanted to say more, but there was a whining sound and then a blue-white burst of energy impacted the wall beside them. "I guess the stealthy approach is off?!"

"Agreed!" said Ginny. "Can you see where they are?"

"Somewhere to the west! Probably on top of one of the buildings!"

"I'll get a better view!" said Ginny. "Cover me!"

"Got it!" said Elena and sent an oscillating wave of energy towards the top of the nearest westerly building.

" _Thanaitor, Corchala, Khaiphos_!" declared Ginny and gently lifted off the ground as if on a column of wind. Within seconds, she was above the roof-line of the building they were sheltering against, and the angle of the energy blasts shifted to follow her. "It's _not_ that one!"

"No kidding!" said Elena, then yelped as a blast clipped her thigh, causing her to drop to her knees.

"Are you okay?" asked Ginny, desperately trying to home in on the shooter's location.

"I'll be fine!" Elena assured her. "The tallest one, it's got to be!"

"I'm on it!" said Ginny and flew towards the indicated building. Seconds later, she was able to see her target, a boy – probably about fourteen or fifteen carrying a long-barrelled American-made pulse carbine. " _Nyktermukes_!"

The boy yelled and dropped his weapon as his helmet filled with results of the wand-less variant of her favourite spell. Ginny landed a few feet away and then quickly crossed the distance between them. "Night, night..." she said, drawing her fist back and then swung at his jaw. "...Sleep tight!"

The military cadet dropped his carbine and crumpled to the ground. Ginny checked he was fine, which he was just unconscious, then picked up the cadet's rucksack and carbine, and took to the air briefly, hovered over the roof sill and then drifted down to stand beside her wounded partner who was sitting on a bonnet of an 'abandoned' car. She rummaged inside the bag for a moment until she found the first aid, removed a burn dressing and a bandage from it. "Let's cover up that wound, Elena."

"I'll be fine," Elena assured her. "We need to get moving."

"We will, we will," Ginny told the younger girl. " _After_ I dress that wound."

"Okay," Elena agreed, raising her injured leg so that Ginny could get at the wound more easily.

* * *

 **Control Room  
20** **th** **June, 0600 BST**

"Risky strategy," offered the watch officer, turning to Nightrunner, who was in his full black-and-purple uniform with his full-face mask in place over his head.

"It worked though," replied the super-hero, glancing at the monitor that showed Ginny Weasley and Elena Vargas moving stealthily towards their 'check-in' point, the younger girl hobbling slightly due to her injured leg.

"How are the others doing?"

"Team One is fighting a running battle through in the south-west quadrant, they've pulled in over half of the Scopers, one of which is injured..."

"How long is that?"

"Thirty-two minutes, sir."

"Impressive for them," offered Nightrunner. "Not so much for your teams, Lieutenant."

"No sir," she glanced over the other screens. "Team Two is still holed up by the Green."

"Not much of a surprise," Nightrunner observed. "Mister Collier _is_ a chlorokinetic after all. Any sign of Team Three?"

"Not in the last hour, sir. We think they may be phasing through buildings to avoid the cameras."

Nightrunner nodded. "I suspect either Starlight or L'rahh taught her that trick."

"Coffee, sir?" asked a civilian assistant who was wheeling a trolley into the control room.

"Thank you," said Nightrunner, rolling the front of his mask up to bare his mouth. "Black, please. It's been a long day."

"Yes sir."

* * *

 **SCOPE Urban Warfare Compound**  
 **Herefordshire WD3  
20** **th** **June, 1000 BST**

Ginny was sheltering against a building, exchanging fire with two Scopers near the exit when a siren blared out across the arena. Immediately, the incoming fire ceased and the exit whirred open.

"Time's up!" observed Elena with relief, sagging back against the building.

"Let's get out of here," said Ginny, holding out an arm for her to lean on.

They were about halfway to the exit when Amanda and her team-mate Louise drifted through the side of one of the buildings and joined. Amanda frowned at the bandage on Elena's shoulder. "Are you alright, Elena?" she asked, crossing to her side and taking Elena's other arm.

"A small plasma burn," Ginny told her. "I think she'll be fine, but I want Dr Copper to take a look at it."

"I'll let them know," said Louise, then skirted around the trio of girls and accelerating to a jog towards the exit.

* * *

 **Watchtower Meeting Room  
Earth Orbit**  
 **25** **th** **June, 0200 EDT**

He glanced over the assembled group - Nightrunner, Bulldog, Rachael Feldmann and the entire European Team - as he entered the private meeting room off the Watchtower's main hall. "Thank you for coming so early. I'll try and make this as brief as possible. Normally we'd have done this about a month ago, but then the Lost Boys case and Rapport's Coluan exchange trip came up, so I agreed to give Doctor Montrose more time to evaluate one of our potentials."

"How's Maddy doing by the way?" asked Harry, who was sitting half-way down the right-hand side of the table, with Maz on side and an empty chair on the other. His arm was still in a sling after he dislocated it in the fight with the Lost Boys.

"Still in transit, unfortunately," he admitted. "But there's been no sign of any issues. The _Chuqal_ is due to make a scheduled stop at Thanagar in two days. We'll know more then."

"Thanks, sir."

"Now, let's get started. I assume you've all read the reports from the assessment team?" When he received nods or other affirmations from the other ten people present, he sat down and activated his personal screen, which automatically loaded the profiles of the candidates. "Does anyone have opening comments?"

The black-and-purple clad girl on his right hand raised a finger. "Rosa?"

"Given Madeline's absence, I assume that K'oll is a strong candidate?" The Italian asked, referring the latest arrival from M'arzz City.

The bald man paused to pull up the appropriate file and scanned it. The Green Martian was only a passable telekinetic, but was one of the most skilled shapeshifters he'd ever seen and the assessment team suggested that he was likely to be a strong, calming influence over the more impulsive members of the Team,. "I agree. Who's next?"

"Ginny Weasley," said Harry.

He paused, considering the question carefully. On the one hand, an extra magic user would be useful, particularly given that Harry would be out of action for a few more weeks, and her latest assessment had her 'acceptable' on her physical and psychological scores. On the other hand, she had no real combat experience and a known history of nightmares after dangerous situations. "I'm not entirely convinced that's a good idea, I know she wants it, and she'll be an asset for the next few weeks while you get back on your feet, but after that..."

"I think she'll do fine," said Maz. "She's inexperienced, but she's pretty tough."

"That's two in favour then?" he asked, and received nods from both. "Any dissenting?"

"I trust you, Harry, but with her history..." said Rosa. "Under the circumstances I'm not we can risk it."

"It wouldn't be a risk!"

"It would, Harry and you know it," she argued.

"Normally, I think I'd feel more comfortable if there were no objections... but her skills _will_ be useful in the short term, so I think we should vote on it."

Rosa didn't look particularly happy about this, but didn't say anything, he sensed that she was thinking that they could always look at cutting her loose once Harry was back on his feet. "I want Doctor Jacobsen and Phil Liang, as Skybolt they've got power, flexibility and brains. Phil's also got some of the best combat scores I've seen in a long time."

"Not as good as Arquero," offered Peta, the half-Swedish North Sea Atlantean known as Little Mermaid.

"If I may?" asked Rachael.

"Go on."

"Arquero's combat abilities may _look_ good on paper, he has a black belt in karate. But he's overly-impulsive, aggressive, relies entirely too much on his powers and he lost a sparring session against _Weasley._ "

"What's that supposed to mean?!" exclaimed Harry and bolted upright.

"Harry, I'm with Rachael," Rosa reaching out to wave him down. "I know you're sweet on the girl and feel responsible for her, but she's only been in training for a few _weeks_ , not the _years_ it would take a black belt."

Harry settled back into his chair. "Fair point."

"So, where are we on Jacobsen and Liang?"

"I'm sold," said Peta.

None of the others had any to say about either, so he glanced over the files and pulled up another one. "Asad Aslam. Quraci shape-shifter, transforms into a lion. Mentored by Changeling at the Marie Logan Sanctuary. Nita?"

"I know him," the Zambesi-American mimic confirmed. "He's got a horrible attitude, no sense of team-work... and a rather mouthy sexist too."

Rachael made a noise that sounded like agreement at this. "Frankly, I think the only reason he's on the list is because one of the Originals recommended him... because I can 'mimic' pretty much any useful talent he has."

He had to admit that Gar's recommendation was a major factor. "Any other comments?"

There were none, so he moved on. "Any thoughts on Albert Collier?"

"I like him," said Peta.

Harry made a face. "Plant control? Maybe in a few years when he knows more about his subject... but at the moment he's too limited. Might be of use to COR after he's finished school though."

"He made a good showing at the live-fire exercise," offered Nightrunner. "But I think I agree with Harry. I know Poison Ivy was one of Gotham's most deadly supervillains for years but that was her seduction and poisoner routines as much as anything."

He'd fought Poison Ivy once or twice in his time, and he agreed. "I'll pass the message to COR. Any thoughts on Yusuf Akram?"

"Can't see the point if we already have Peta and Skybolt?" offered Harry. "Not unless we're 'quota watching' now. I can't see any other real point in his favour."

"I agree with Harry," said Rosa. "I also have similar objection to Louise Mann. He's a team player and decent enough with powers but with K'oll replacing Madeline as our telepath he's not needed."

He glanced around the table, nobody else seemed to want to weigh in so he switched to a different profile. "Elena Vargas, Portuguese, with the power to generate vibratory force beams and other sound related phenomenon from her hands."

"Needs to work on her situational awareness," noted Nightrunner. "She got shot in the leg by a Scoper marksman during the live-fire exercise. Reasonable scores for everything else though."

"Popular with the other candidates too," said Rachael.

Taking that as agreement, he pulled up the final file. "Finally, we have Amanda Pederson, German, can nullify meta-human powers using mentally generated 'webs'."

"A little limited," suggested Harry. "But I can think of least one operation that we've got on the back-burner that it could be useful for."

"Which one?" asked Rosa.

"Hamlin."

Rosa paused for a moment to consider that. "Point taken."

He paused to see if anyone had anything else to add, which they didn't. He pulled up the voting panel and then looked around the table. "Then lets vote."

He glanced over the names. _K'oll M'dgall, Ginny Weasley, Doctor Jacobsen and Phil Liang, Salvador Arquero, Asad Aslam, Albert Collier, Yusuf Akram, Louise Mann, Elena Vargas and Amanda Perez._

He pondered the choices for a moment, then selected K'oll, Ginny Weasley, the Skybolt duo, Elena Vargas and Amanda Pederson. He wasn't surprised that within moments most of the others voted for the same options. "Thank you for your time," he said. "Maz, the twins are waiting for you in Central City for the 'Festival of the Rogues'."

The Sikh girl smiled. "I'll pack a bag and head over there this afternoon."

"Then the meeting is adjourned," the bald man rose from his seat at the head of the table, then paused for a moment. "Don't forget you're all welcome to attend the party on the fourth to welcome the new members."

"I'd like to give Ginny the good news?" asked Harry.

"I will take care the official filing, but if you want to tell her yourself, that would fine," he agreed. "Dismissed."

The seven teens filed out of the meeting room and quickly headed for their preferred 'hangouts' on the station. The bald man crossed over to his seat by the main computer bank and sat down. "Watchtower to Dome."

" _This is Belphegor. Go ahead._ "

"The votes are in. Ginny Weasley, Elena Vargas, Amanda Pederson and Skybolt are in, Salvador Arquero, Yusuf Akram, Albert Collier and Louise Mann are not. Can you inform them and the _Police Fédérale_ and SCOPE as appropriate?

" _Of course._ "

"Thanks very much. Watchtower out." The bald man paused a moment, then opened the channel a third time. "Watchtower to Sanctuary."

" _They've decided then?_ "

"Yes, Gar. Unfortunately your boy didn't make the cut."

" _Can't say I'm that surprised. I only put him forward because I'd like him to get out more. Noor is considering recruiting him for the Presidential Guard anyway. I assume that K'oll make the cut though?_ "

"Yep. I think he would have anyway, but Maddy's departure made it a lock. Are you coming up for the Fourth?"

" _Wouldn't miss it for anything sort of the apocalypse_."

"Don't _joke_ about that sort of thing, Gar!" the bald man growled.

" _Yeesh, sorry. Bye!_ "

The old man frowned for a moment.

 _*Can we 'take the pin out' yet?*_ A teasing, feminine voice asked in his head.

The man smiled, _she_ could always make him feel better. * _Why not.*_

* * *

 _A/N: This one didn't take as long as I'd feared. Next one will, unfortunately take a good bit longer, but with a bit of luck I might be able to get it out before_ Cursed Child _hits the shelves._


	5. Chapter 5: Today's the Day

.  
 **  
Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 5: Today's the Day**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author.  
_

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the_ DC Comics _elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the New Tens as screened, and is heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result._ _ **  
**_  
 _As it seemed to work reasonably well in the previous chapter, this chapter includes several different PoVs for a more '_ Young Justice _-style' narrative rather than the single PoV approach of_ Harry Potter.

 _Due to multiple reviews raising the issue, I'd like to make it clear that unless stated otherwise, the action of this story takes place in the run up to and during the 1997-1998 school year (parallel to the events of Deathly Hallows in canon). The year code "AL" is also my own invention and stands for After Liberation, counting the years after the Justice League's ending of the "Apokolips War", my as-yet unwritten take on the events of_ Young Justice Season 3 ( _Set late 1973 to April 1976) and will be used in any sections from the PoV of non-Wizard characters going forward._

* * *

 **Western Congolian Swamp Forest  
Western Zaire  
24th June, 1810 WAT, 21AL**

The poacher peered down the scope of his powerful rifle at the grazing animals below, and as just about to pull the trigger when the rifle was wrenched out of his hands. He lost his balance and fell out of his tree, landing hard - but unhurt - in the undergrowth. He looked up to see what looked like an osprey – but it was _green_! _Ospreys aren't green_! - drop his rifle hard enough against a rock to bend the barrel. "You can't do that, that's _mine_!"

"Yeah, but hunting okapi is illegal too!" said a nearby voice. It seemed to come from the green bird, which had turned and was flying back towards him, but that would be ridiculous... _Wouldn't it?  
_ _  
_But before he could consider it any further, the bird did something even more unexpected... it started to grown bigger and change shape... so that by the time it collided with him, it wasn't a bird weighing only a few pounds any more... it was a _five-hundred-pound_ gorilla.

The result was predictable.

The gorilla shifted his appearance slightly – his face became more human, but retained the gorilla's build and posture. Garfield Logan routed around in the poacher's bush jacket and quickly found a satellite phone that had managed to survive both the fall and their collision, then dialled a local landline. " _Tinshasa Police, Inspector Zavimbe speaking."_

"David, it's Gar. I've found _Roho Meupe._ Can you track this signal?"

" _Thanks to Oracle, yes,_ " confirmed the inspector. " _Do I have time to send officers by road?_ "

"He's taking a nap for now," said Gar dryly. "You'll be fine for a couple of hours at least."

" _Understood. Good job._ "

"Always happy to help," said Gar, then without hanging up he tucked the 'phone back into the other man's pocket and carried him back to his jeep. After making sure that he was securely tied in, he retrieved the rifle and put it in the car.

His job complete, he transformed into a Rannian Terrazor and took to the air, heading for where he'd stashed the _K'H'rahh._

* * *

 **Karlsruhe Institute of Technology  
Karlsruhe, Baden-Wurttemberg  
24** **th** **June, 2300 CEST**

Fritz Fleischer had been moderately successful compared to most of his kind in the modern climate. Turned during the Second World War, he had evaded the _p_ _olizei_ on many occasions, though two attempts by the _Landeskriminalamt_ hunt him down had briefly forced his departure from the city in the 1960s, until the chaos of the Apokolips War had distracted them long enough for him to return to his comfortable niche preying on the often-transient population of KIT.

The rise of video surveillance had added another challenge in recent years and lead him to reconsider his plan to sire a Childe or two and expand his territory. With exams over and the summer break closing in, the pickings had been increasingly lean lately, so when an unusually young-looking Oriental teen wandered by his perch, he didn't hesitate as long as usual before dropping out of the tree in front of the boy.

To his surprise, rather than being motionless in shock, the boy easily dodged his first lunge and took off at a run towards the _FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik_ building, a favourite spot of Fritz's as it was often occupied late in the night, meaning that anyone leaving was an easy target.

"There is no point in running, _junge_ ," Fritz jeered, speeding up to close the gap. "You cannot get away!"

"Wasn't trying to," declared the boy as he reached the front door of _FZI_ and a slim, flaxen-haired woman came out.

She glanced his way, apparently not surprised to see him. "I see you found him, Phil,"

 _Found him?_ Fritz repeated to himself.

"You can be bait next time, Jinfa,"

 _Bait_? thought the vampire, and slowed his rush towards his target. _That_ definitely _doesn't sound good._

"I'll think about it," agreed the woman - sounding like she was humouring the boy – and took his arm. "Ready?"

"Always."

" _Bolt fra... tiānkōng!_ " declared the pair, and they were instantly enveloped in a funnel of dust and wind, then their bodies crackled with electricity and the woman appeared to merge _into_ her younger partner's form, changing his typical _Gymnasiasten_ clothes into a bluish-white and yellow bodysuit.

The boy looked towards Fritz, his eyeballs now a uniform milky-white and crackling with electricity. "Any last words, _blutsauger_?" he asked as he formed a ball of power between his hands.

" _Scheiße_!" replied the vampire and turned to run. _We've never had_ übermenschen _before, when did this -_ " But the rest of his thought – and his escape was cut off by a stab of pain and then his world went black.

"There's no need for bad language," Skybolt told the smoking pile of ash that had been Fritz Fleischer, then he separated back into his two halves.

"Nicole will be pleased that he's gone," Doctor Jacobsen commented, referring to the new campus security head that had tipping them off to the vampire's presence.

"Do you think they've made the decision yet?" asked Phil.

His companion didn't need to ask who 'they' were. "The final meeting is in the morning, I believe we should know by lunchtime."

"We'll get in... I'm sure of it!"

"I think it is very likely."

"With your brains and our power, how can they say no?"

"It depends on the Team's current needs and the other candidates," the blonde reminded her younger partner.

"Do you think the _kantine_ is open? I could do with a snack."

"No, Phil. The _kantine_ closed an hour ago," replied Doctor Jacobsen. "However, I do have some _Spritzkuchen_ left in my desk at the lab. They might be a bit stale though?"

"You rock, _Jinfa_."

* * *

 **LexCorp Tower**  
 **Metropolis**  
 **24th June, 2030 EDT**

Most big cities have one or two famous landmarks, some have more, but for the city of Metropolis, few - save perhaps the historic _Daily Planet_ building - can boast the fame, or perhaps infamy, of LexCorp Tower, a glass-and-steel edifice that dominates the skyline of New Troy Island and the city as a whole.

As was his custom, the master of the building - and the sprawling business empire it controlled - stood by the bay windows of his penthouse offices, contemplating the view of the city as the sun set over it. An intercom on his desk buzzed. "Yes Faith?"

" _The Rhelasian Trade Ministry is on line seven, Mr Luthor._ "

The man, given what was on his calendar for next month, he could easily guess what was on the Trade Minister's mind. "Put him through, Faith," he gave one last look at the sunset and then strode back to his desk. "Minister Kim, what can I do for you?"

" _We are aware that you will be attending the trade summit in Geneva next month to discuss ways in which LexCorp can contribute to the success of the Earth-Alien Trading Partnership_..." replied the Minister.

"Naturally."

" _Given the strong relations that we have enjoyed over the last three decades, it is our hope that we can count on you to speak for Rhelasian interests at the Summit_."

"I can assure you, Minister, that LexCorp's interest in your country's future is unchanged and I will consider your position as I always have."

" _Thank you, Mr Luthor,_ " said the Minister. " _I knew we could rely on you._ "

* * *

 **The Burrow  
Ottery St Catchpole  
25th June, 0900 BST**

 _'The Ancient Greeks were quite broad-minded. But the sight of a naked man running through the streets shouting, "I've found it, I've found it!" caused a few heads to turn and probably collected a swarm of children calling out rude words.'_ Ginny paused for a moment in her physics reading to consider that thought, blushing slightly. _I can believe that._

The naked man was called Archimedes. He was already famous as a scientist, and he had just solved a physics problem! He had discovered what we now call the Archimedes' Principle. _The Local king had asked him to check whether a new crown was made of pure gold or a cheaper mix of gold and silver._ _The answer came to him in the bath-'_

Ginny had to pause for a moment again at that. _Dad's right, Muggles' do have strange ways of doing things sometimes..._ She was just about to continue reading when her mum shouted for her from downstairs. Ginny got up from her desk, padded to the door and opened it. "What is it, Mum?!"

"Harry's on the Floo! He wants you to come through, he's got some news!"

"I'll be right there, Mum!" Ginny replied, then paused to consider her outfit. As usual for the summer, she was wearing Muggle jeans and t-shirt which was okay for hanging around the house, but if she was right, then they might need to go out. She quickly changed into one of the better sundresses in her meagre collection – she vaguely remembered it had originally been Hermione's – and slipped on a pair of sandals before skipping down the stairs two at a time.

By the time that she reached the kitchen, Harry was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he, Mum?"

"He said the usual place."

Ginny paused. The Orchard, as a Muggle residence wasn't connected to the Floo Network and she'd never been to Harry's house, so that meant...

She helped herself to a pinch of Floo Powder and threw it into the fire. Then she declared, " _The Consulting Room_!" and disappeared in a flash of green fire.

Ginny appeared in the sitting room of the Consulting Room in a flash of green flame and looked around briefly.

Harry was sitting in one of a trio of plush easy chairs arrayed around the fireplace. He was back in his 'Squire' appearance, but his old glasses sat on a small table in front of her, so Ginny guessed that her mother still didn't know about his 'new face'. "Have a seat," said Harry, indicating the chair next to him. "Do you want anything to eat... cold drink?"

"No, I'm fine thanks," said Ginny, sinking into her chair, pondering that despite being over a hundred years old, it was _very_ comfortable. "What's up?"

"I was called up to the Watchtower first thing this morning, for a meeting with the Chairman, the trainers and the Team."

"Well?" asked Ginny, desperately trying to contain her excitement. "Have they made a decision?"

Harry didn't say anything for a moment, but reached under his chair for a large bag, which he handed to Ginny. The first thing that she removed from the bag was a full-length, highly supple bodysuit which shifted through several colour patterns before settling into a silvery-white top and black leggings. "This is _l'bdikk sh'tovv,_ Martian bio-fabric..."

Harry nodded.

Ginny reached into the bag and removed a heavy grey slab of Muggle technology with a camera lens attached to it. "And this is the _Zeta_ module, only the League has access to these..."

Harry nodded again.

"But that means..." she paused, still not sure she was right. "I'm in?"

Harry's face broke into a smile and he nodded a third time.

Ginny's heart soared, finally for the first time in _years_ something was really, truly going _right_ for her. She leapt to her feet and before she could think twice she swept Harry up in a hug, only barely stopping herself from kissing him. "Thank you... thank you so much!"

Harry froze for a moment, before awkwardly returning the hug with his good arm. "You don't need to thank _me._ " he told her. "You did all the hard work."

* * *

 **The Orchard**  
 **Royctonshire**  
 **28th June, 0800 BST**

" _Recognised Ginny Weasley, G96._ "

Predictably, her mother hadn't been as happy about Ginny being recruited to the Team as she had been, and was quite vocal about it. Her father tried to mediate between the two of them, but Ginny had spent enough time around trained observers in the last two months to tell that – while outwardly supportive of her – he was at least as worried as her mother.

After two days, Ginny had had enough and at Ron's suggestion looked for somewhere to stay for a while, at least until she'd had her first successful mission which hopefully would calm at least her father down. Her first choice would have to say with Maddy – the younger girl had a personality that was the best bits of both Hermione and the twins and was great fun to hang around with, but she and her mother were on their way to Colu and so were unavailable. So, after mustering up the courage to contact Harry – who was apparently in the United States attending the birthday party of the Team's former trainer – she was directed back to the Orchard.

"Welcome back to the Orchard, Ginny," said Doctor Montrose, as the red-headed girl stepped out of the Zeta Tube into the Orchard's Game Room. Danny Montrose, the younger of the two brothers, stood with her, he was several inches shorter than Eddie, leaner with sandy-blond hair over a high forehead, and at eleven not yet old enough for the Team, but like Ginny was eagerly awaiting his chance. "Harry has already told me about the problem. Eddie's getting one of the spare bedrooms ready for you. Have you eaten?"

"I don't want to be any trouble...?"

"It's not a problem," Doctor Montrose assured her. "You're not the first member of the Team whose family hasn't entirely embraced their membership."

Ginny sighed, "I can understand – mostly – what's bothering her. But, at the same time, I want to do - to _be_ \- something more than a stay-at-home kid that's always hiding behind their parents when there's trouble."

Doctor Montrose nodded and steered Ginny up the stairs to the kitchen, Danny took her bag and vanished up to the bedrooms with it. "Scrambled eggs?" she asked Ginny, once she was settled at the table.

"If it's not a problem?"

"Of course not," the older woman assured her and set about assembled the ingredients. "How have you been sleeping? Any nightmares?"

Ginny paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Ginny?"

"Okay... I haven't had any _nightmares_ , but with all the arguing with Mum, I haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of days."

"That's what I thought," said Doctor Montrose. "Maybe you should have a rest after you've had some breakfast?"

Ginny nodded in agreement and after a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, ham, and mushrooms on a fresh soda farl, she headed up to the bedrooms, eventually stopping in the second-to-last bedroom – which unlike the very 'pink and girly' back bedroom had a more neutral 'white and pale wood' décor – where she found her bag.

As Doctor Montrose predicted, with a full stomach and away from the stresses of home, she was soon asleep.

* * *

 **The Orchard  
Royctonshire**  
 **4th July, 1745 BST**

As she was already somewhat familiar with the Orchard, it didn't take Ginny long to settle in, and although in quiet moments Ginny occasionally felt a twinge of homesickness – usually during her study sessions - she was mostly having too much fun to think about that sort of thing, and the rest of the week-and-a-half between her being recruited and Independence Day went by in a flash (Maz groaned a little when she told her that later, apparently it sounded a little too much a joke that she'd heard _a lot_ during her time in Central City) and then it was only a couple of hours until she would finally be inducted.

"Eight ball, corner pocket," declared Eddie, taking aim at the black to win the game for he and his brother Danny.

"Boys, Ginny, Nita... Dinner!" declared Doctor Montrose from the top of the stairs.

Momentarily distracted, Eddie's aim slipped, sending the ball bouncing around the table until it came to a stop opposite the left centre pocket, allowing his girlfriend and Ginny's pool partner – Zambesi-American Benita McCabe – to easily sink it and win the game.

"Mum?!" yelled Eddie. "What did you that for?"

"Consider it 'concentration training'," his mother replied. "Now come and get the food while it's hot."

Brightening up slightly at the prospect of getting fed, Eddie bounded up the stairs to the kitchen, with his brother, Ginny, and Nita not far behind.

After a delicious meal of home-made burgers and chips followed by apple pie and custard – washed down by some of the Orchard's omnipresent cider, Danny was assigned the washing-up and the three teens headed upstairs to change into their uniforms.

As all three wore bio-suits – Ginny with a thigh-length hooded cape over hers, the other two only the suit itself – it didn't take long for them to get changed and after wishing goodbye to Eddie's mum and brother, they headed back down to the Game Room and Eddie booted up the Zeta Tube.

Once it was on-line, Eddie motioned Ginny forward and tapped a couple of keys. The system's scanning beam swept over her, " _Recognised Ginny Weasley, G96_." Eddie typed a couple more keys. " _Access Confirmed, Designation B147,_ " declared the computer after a moment.

Eddie nodded to his girlfriend, who immediately joined them in front of the Zeta Tube. The trio were immediately scanned by the system. " _Recognised Darkclaw B136, Recognised Shadowfox B144, Recognised Protector B147._ " confirmed the computer and they disappeared in the usual flash of blue-white light.

* * *

 **The Watchtower**  
 **Earth Orbit  
4th July, 1350 EDT**

The Zeta Tube dropped them into a huge crowd of people, some familiar but most not. However, one of the most striking was the first to greet her. He was a Martian, with the tall muscular build that the League's Martian members affected while on Earth, but while the black-and-red bio-suit with a long sweeping cloak was normal enough, the insignia on his chest, a diamond with a stylised 'S' in the middle marked him as one particular Martian, in fact if her reading was correct, not entirely a Martian at all...

"Greetings, Protector. Welcome to the Watchtower," said the man, holding out a hand for her to shake. "My name is Supermartian, Chairman of the Justice League."

* * *

 _A/N: The quote read by Ginny in this chapter is from_ Nelson Science: Physics _by Ken Dobson (1995) and is reproduced verbatim. While I can't be sure which syllabus Ginny would be studying from, I used the above book up to GSCE in Belfast c 1997-99._

 _Skybolt's transformation phrase is a mix of Norwegian and Chinese (symbolising the combination of the two partners)._


	6. Chapter 6: The Adventure Begins

. ****

 **Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 6: The Adventure Begins**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the_ DC Comics _elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the New Tens as screened, and is heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result. **  
**_  
 _As it seemed to work reasonably well in the previous chapter, this chapter includes several different PoVs for a more '_ Young Justice _-style' narrative rather than the single PoV approach of_ Harry Potter.

 _Due to multiple reviews raising the issue, I'd like to make it clear that unless stated otherwise, the action of this story takes place in the run up to and during the 1997-1998 school year (parallel to the events of Deathly Hallows in canon). The year code "AL" is also my own invention and stands for After Liberation, counting the years after the Justice League's ending of the "Apokolips War", my as-yet unwritten take on the events of_ Young Justice Season 3 ( _Set late 1973 to April 1976) and will be used in any sections from the PoV of non-Wizard characters going forward._

* * *

 **Brecon Beacons National Park  
South Wales**  
 **7** **th** **July, 1330 BST**

"This is _amazing_!" declared Ginny, as she tipped the _Z'orr_ into a shallow dive, closing to only a few hundred feet of the valley floor. "How fast am I going?"

"Ask _her_ ," Kathryn told her. "Magicals aren't as strong telepathically as Martians, but you should be able to get that much."

Slightly apprehensively – remembering what happened last time she mind-touched with something that she couldn't 'see where it kept its brain' – she reached out mentally and touched the nearest mind. * _No, that's me,_ * said Kathryn. * _And watch out for that mountain._ *

Manipulating the manual controls slightly, she started to angle the Bio-Ship upwards slightly as she approached Pen y Fan. Then she cast her mind out again, and quickly found a simpler mind. *Z'orr?*

She didn't get any reply in words – which somewhat reassured her – but she definitely got a feeling of something 'sitting up and taking notice'.

* _How fast are we going_?*

Again, the reply wasn't in words as such, but more feelings. After speeding up again as she climbed the face of Pen y Fan, Ginny figured it out. "About _twelve hundred miles_ an hour?!" she squealed. "That's at least _eight_ times faster than a _Firebolt_!"

Then Ginny got a feeling of pride from _Z'orr_ and something that seemed to suggest that she could go faster.

"Give me a mid-air loop as you cross the top of the mountain and accelerate down the rear slope." Kathryn told her. "I want you to be at no more than one-thousand feet when we overfly Brecon."

"Understood," confirmed Ginny, playing the controls so that they back-flipped as they hit the peak, floating upside down the briefest of moments before turning back 'right way up' and speeding down the slope towards the town of Brecon.

"Incoming communication from the Watchtower," said Kathryn. "I'm putting it up."

A holo-screen popped into view at the front of the cockpit and the jade-coloured face of Supermartian filled it seconds later. " _What's your status_?"

"Almost done," replied Kathryn. "Ginny just needs to do the 'CAS Run' through the Urban Warfare Compound and then we are finished here."

" _How long will that take?_ "

"Not long, we should be finished in fifteen to twenty minutes."

" _Complete her training, but leave the_ Z'orr _at the compound and Zeta back to Watchtower as soon as possible._ " Supermartian told them. " _We have a situation_."

"Understood," replied Kathryn.

" _Watchtower out._ "

"Well, you heard the man," Kathryn said, glancing over her shoulder at Ginny. "Let's see how fast we can get this done."

"Absolutely," agreed Ginny, telepathically urging the _Z'orr_ to greater speeds.

* * *

 **Justice League Watchtower  
Earth Orbit**  
 **0900 EDT**

" _Recognised Demoness 116, Recognised Protector B147,_ " declared the Watchtower's computer as the two redheads materialised on the League's orbital station. They moved quickly into the main room, then separated. Ginny moved to stand between Harry and Eddie amongst the junior and reserve European members on the near side of the table and Kathryn headed towards the lectern to stand with the rest of the active membership.

"Greetings," said Supermartian. "Now that most of us are present, we can begin. Matthew?"

A redheaded male with a handlebar moustache in the colours of the Green Lantern Corps stepped up to the lecture beside Supermartian. "For the last eighteen months, diplomats and industrialists from across the world have been working with their counterparts on twenty-two planets in nearby local space including major players in the surrounding five Sectors in preparation for a multilateral trade summit due to start in Geneva later this week."

"Until recently, it was believed Geneva Police's diplomatic security unit and a small number of Justice League Observers would be sufficient to ensure the safety of the event. However, the lynching of an Ungaran in Rome, a firebombing of a Bismollian restaurant in London and a general increase in xenophobic protests in several cities including Geneva itself, led to concerns by the UN and the WTO that increased security would be necessary. The final straw was three of the Graxosian advance team coming down with Euxinian Virus, despite there being no Euxinians within three parsecs of Earth."

Supermartian stepped forward again at this point. "It has been decided to keep most of the active membership on alert at Watchtower as normal and they will be supplemented by four Deputy Lanterns from adjoining Sectors. Ground support for summit will be the League Observers - covering the interior of the WTO building - backed up by three alternating squads from the Team - who will provide external or off-site security as needed. To prevent time lag, or interference with police communications, I will be running both operations in the field over telepathic link."

" _You_ will be onsite, sir?" asked one of the American League members that Ginny didn't recognise.

"Of course," said Supermartian. After all, it wouldn't be much of a trade summit without..." Then he trailed off for a moment, before triggering his shapeshifting talent and morphing into a white-suited man who looked a bit like a bearded, somewhat older version, of her brother Bill. "… Luthor."

* * *

 **The Foundry,  
Steel City  
9** **th** **July, 1900 BST  
**

Despite gathering most of the membership for the initial announcement, the League's leadership decided that it would be best for the initial group for Geneva was 'the most experienced they had available' so Ginny was benched in favour of a mixed group of American and European members, all with at least three years of experience – including a returned Maz Pascim, now going by the codename Bijali - and the group departed immediately for Switzerland on the _H'L'umm_ , the League's lead Bioship, with the American Team's Rannian member Zeta Girl at the controls.

However, Ginny didn't have long to brood about the missed opportunity though, as they got a request from the Yorkshire and Humber Constabulary two days later for assistance with a serial rapist who had so far left six victims, three of which were still in critical condition in hospital, so Delta Squad - backed up by a League engineer familiar with the area - were dispatched to Steel City to assist the investigation.

" _Recognised Natasha Irons A70, Recognised Darkclaw B136, Recognised Shadowfox B144, Recognised Kid Martian B146, Recognised Protector B147_ ," declared the computer as the quintet exited the Zeta Tube into the League's Steel City safe-house. Their contact, a blonde woman in her late twenties was waiting for them in the main workshop/training area.

Doctor Irons moved forward to greet the woman. "DS Cutter?"

The blonde woman nodded and took her hand, "Thank you for coming. SCOPE wasn't sure that you'd be able to spare the manpower due to the summit in Geneva."

Doctor Irons nodded, "Supermartian decided that ten of the Team was enough to cover Geneva, so Nightrunner sent us to help your investigation."

"Well, we're glad to have you," said DS Cutter, then indicated the area by the main workstation, dominated as usual by a vast monitor screen. "Are you ready to get started?"

The League quintet followed Cutter's lead and clustered around the monitor. DS Cutter quickly pulled a set of holo-controls. "Our target has been dubbed the 'Steel City Stripper' by the media. As you know, he's had six victims so far…" She touched a key, and the photo of young, platinum blonde girl flashed up on the screen. "His first victim was Lonnie Montizler, sixteen, works a pet groomer in the suburbs, she was attacked on the seventh, a little over three weeks ago. We got the only real evidence we've got from that, a partial DNA sample."

"No match, I assume?" asked Eddie.

"No…" DS Cutter agreed. "A possible clue, though. A follow-up analysis that the Centre for Organised Research completed for us last week indicated the presence of morphogenic enzymes in the cells."

"A shapeshifter?" asked Eddie.

"A shapeshifter." DS Cutter confirmed. "Not a Human or a Martian though, the composition doesn't match apparently."

"Have you got the analysis?" asked K'oll.

"Of course," said Cutter, she pressed a few keys and another picture popped up on the monitor.

K'oll drifted over to it and peered at it intently. "I agree with COR's analysis… not a Daemonite or Hellgrammite either…"

"Well, _that's_ a relief," said Eddie. "What do you think he is then?"

"Possibly a Replikon… I'd need more about his MO." K'oll replied "I think a Durlan is more likely though. Probably a Futurist."

"Does that help us?" asked DS Cutter.

K'oll shook his head. "Not really, although it might help with the takedown if we can catch him. Durlans are vulnerable to cancellite, it disables their powers."

"I'll put in a request," said Doctor Irons, speaking up for the first time since they arrived.

Ginny thought they were getting a bit off topic, so decided to speak up. "What about the other victims, who were they?"

DS Cutter nodded. "The second victim was Daisy Goodwin, seventeen, she works as a waitress at a local restaurant and wants to be hypnotherapist. She was attacked on the twenty-first."

"The first two are both blondes," observed Eddie. "Is that his type?"

"DCI Hurling thought so at the time." said Cutter. "Especially with Mira Deegan – attacked on the twenty-sixth - although she was Lanothian and older than the others at nineteen, which confused us. But the fourth victim forced him to rethink that."

A fourth picture joined the line-up and Ginny could immediately see what the sergeant meant. The fourth victim – identified by the caption as Hanna Warner, law student - had medium-length strawberry-blond hair rather than blond.

"The last two victims were Zoya Zeagon, an eighteen-year old immigrant from Aleph system and Amy Baird, a Scottish student, attacked on the second and sixth of July respectively, both show a switch away from blondes."

"Yes, and two of them being aliens, whereas the other four are humans seems atypical as well," offered Eddie.

"Maybe that's a coincidence, though," Ginny suggested. "I mean, neither of them _look_ alien."

"We came to the same conclusion," DS Cutter offered. "Especially when we considered the next clue…"

She tapped another button and the picture of a fancy night club filled the top half of the screen. The sign over the door read 'The Limbo'. "Forensic analysis of the victims' bank accounts revealed that they all bought tickets for shows at this club."

Doctor Irons looked pensively at the screen for a moment, to Ginny she looked like she was trying to remember something. "The Limbo's a xeno-club, isn't it?"

Cutter nodded. "Probably the biggest and most popular in Britain, outside of London. It's owned by a pair of Graxosians, brother and sister."

"So, you think that's his hunting ground?" asked Eddie.

"That's the current working theory," agreed Cutter. "The Llaps have been cooperative, but all their employees have come up clean and checking out the customers, even with ticket information, hasn't helped either."

"So you want to 'bait the hook' and see if you can draw him out," Ginny suggested, finally realizing the main reason why _she_ at least had been assigned.

"That's the plan," agreed Cutter, though she didn't sound terribly enthused by the notion.

* * *

However, _having_ a plan – even a good one – doesn't guarantee success, and no-one unusual approached Ginny either at The Limbo or on her walk back to the safe-house afterwards. Doctor Irons sent Delta to bed and said that she'd stay by the monitor in case of any further developments.

* * *

 **10** **th** **July, 0745 BST**

"Anything?" asked Ginny, as she drifted into the main room after a workout in the Founder's small gym and a shower.

Doctor Irons, who was at the stove finishing off a pan of eggs, shook her head. "Nothing on the monitors, I'll check with DS Cutter when she gets back on duty." She gave the pan a final stir, then looked up. "Do you want some?"

"Thanks," said Ginny, grabbing a stack of plates from a cupboard and offered them one at a time to Doctor Irons, who spooned a couple of large spoonfuls of the mix of scrambled-eggs and ham on to each, which Ginny carried over the main monitor bank, where the other three members of her Squad were already gathered. "Breakfast?" she asked, offering the first two plates to Eddie and Nita, who both accepted them with thanks. Then she went back to the kitchenette and picked up two more plates, leaving the last one for Doctor Irons, who picked it up and headed back towards the bunk rooms to get some rest.

"Anything interesting?" she asked K'oll, who was at the keyboard, when she offered him a plate.

K'oll shook his head. "Nothing yet, but GBS has an interview about the Geneva summit starting in a few minutes."

"It's only been a day, how much can there be to say?" asked Ginny as she dug into the eggs.

"I'm sure 'Mister Luthor' will come up with something," replied K'oll, between bites. "Here is they are now."

A young, blond man was standing in front of the WTO building, " _This is Adam Grant for GBS, coming to you live in front of the International Trade Centre on Day Two of the Earth-Alien Trading Partnership Summit. With me is philanthropist and corporate CEO Alexander Luthor of LexCorp, an independent observer at the Summit. Mister Luthor, good morning and thank you for joining me._ "

" _You're welcome, Adam,_ " said Supermartian. " _I'm always happy to meet with members of the press._ "

" _And we appreciate it, Mister Luthor,_ " said Grant. " _I know it's early days yet, but do you have a sense of how the summit is going?_ "

"As you say, we've only had one day of formal negotiations so far," agreed Supermartian. " _But the Zwevrans' proposal on deep mining rights are promising, and I've personally had several productive conversations with the Piradian delegation on acquiring their cybernetics expertise._ "

" _Sounds like a good beginning_ ," Grant suggested.

" _I agree_ ," confirmed Supermartian. " _And I look forward to further developments today._ "

Grant turned back to the camera, " _Well, you heard it first here… a good beginning to the first day of negotiations and optimism for further developments as we move into Day Two. This is Adam Grant, for GBS News signing off_."

K'oll reached over and tapped a key, closing the newsfeed. "Well, perhaps the extra security did the trick."

"Let's hope so," said Ginny. "Earth needs as many friends as it can get."

* * *

There wasn't much they could do for the hunt until Doctor Irons and DS Cutter were back on shift, so the quartet mutually decided to do a bit of 'sightseeing' – partly to aid K'oll in his assimilation of Earth culture, and partly because it seemed like an idea to get a better 'lay of the land' in case it lead to any clues for the case.

After checking out the local listings, they decided to visit the local Centertainment site, first for a couple of rounds of crazy golf – which K'oll won – then up to the Hollywood Bowl for ten-pin bowling – which K'oll _also_ won – by which point the others started looking at the Martian a little suspiciously.

"What?" he said. "I wasn't _cheating._ I'm telekinetic, I have a natural affinity for controlling moving objects."

"He's got a point," admitted Eddie. "Anyone ready for lunch? I've got one of Mum's 'company credit cards' so I'm buying."

Nita got a thoughtful look on her face at that. "What's the limit?"

Eddie pondered the question, "Given that they're backed by the James Gordon Foundation, probably pretty high, if we can justify it. What are you thinking?"

"Not about lunch, though I wouldn't say no to a Big Belly Burger Mega Meal if you're buying," replied his girlfriend. "It's about the case. I need to make a couple of calls… I wonder if Mamma knows anyone near here?"

* * *

 **Steel City S1  
10** **th** **July, 1850 BST**

Nita had decided that – just in the case the Stripper had missed Ginny the night before – she needed a makeover to 'make more of an impact', so after getting some advice from her _mamma_ about local experts, she dragged Ginny around several venues including a hair stylist, and a jewellers and boutique fashion house and although Ginny wasn't convinced it was a good idea to start with, by the time she'd been primped, preened, styled and wrapped in a new teal, mid-thigh dress she was beginning to that Nita might be onto something, but when the time can to get started she began to have second thoughts.

"What if it doesn't work?" she asked Nita, as they rode an unmarked police van into the town centre.

"Don't worry about, Ginny," said Nita. "We've get him. If not tonight, then soon."

"I hope so," Ginny replied. "I hate thinking about him hurting another girl."

"Me too."

"We're nearly there, kids," said Doctor Irons from the driving seat. "Kid Martian?"

The young Martian shifted from his human disguise – which somewhat resembled a younger version of Ginny's brother Percy – into his Martian "Earth form". * _Activating telepathic link._ *

* _Go invisible, take up over-watch position and begin surveillance._ *

* _Understood_ ,* confirmed the teen, then floated up off the seat, fading from view as he passed through the roof.

* _Does everyone know the plan_?*

* _Same as yesterday_?* asked Eddie. * _Nita and I enter the club first, taking separate positions to maximise our view of area_.*

* _Then when they give the signal, I enter the club_ ,* said Ginny. * _Then try and make sure I'm seen by as many people as possible for and during the show. Hopefully our target will see me and choose me as his next victim._ *

* _We're here_ ,* said Doctor Irons, pulling into a parking space within view of the club's entrance. * _Darkclaw, Shadowfox… go._ *

* _Going,_ * replied the couple, Eddie exiting the van first, then Nita.

Doctor Irons turned to Ginny. * _Nervous_?*

Ginny nodded.

* _Good, that'll keep you alive._ *

 _Well,_ that's _a reassuring sentiment,_ observed Ginny as she moved towards the door of the van to get out. _Not._

* _Darkclaw to Doctor Irons, Shadowfox and I are in position. Show starts in five._ *

* _Understood, Protector is on her way. Report when you have visual._ *

* _Standing by._ *

Ginny leaned over and opening the van's side door and slid gracefully down to the ground. * _Heading in now,_ * she reported once she'd secured the door.

She walked up to the main door, showed her ticket to the doorman and was ushered inside. * _This is Protector, I'm inside the venue,_ * she reported as she walked towards the main auditorium.

* _This is Kid Martian, in position on the roof._ *

Once she was in the main auditorium, Ginny headed towards the main bar. She wasn't particularly thirsty, but it was one of the few common factors they'd been able to identify. "What can I get you?" asked the barman, once she reached the front.

"A Soder Cola, please?"

"Coming right up."

* _Doctor Irons, I have visual on Protector. She's at the bar. Nobody seems to be paying her any unusual attention so far._ *

* _Shadowfox here. I also have visual. Nothing to report._ *

Ginny handed over the money and took her glass, glancing around the room, she spotted a familiar, if unexpected face. * _Doctor Irons, this is Protector. Have any Scopers been authorised for this operation?_ *

* _Negative, Protector, just Delta Squad. Why_?*

* _Because I just spotted one of the Scopers that I hexed during my assessment._ *

* _Can you remember a name_?*

* _Staniforth, I think…_ * said Ginny. * _About 5'9, sandy-brown hair._ *

* _Checking now…_ *

* _I have visual,_ * reported Eddie. * _Do I approach_?*

* _Hold position, Darkclaw,_ * ordered Irons.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw the Graxosian owner and MC of the club cross to the middle of the stage. * _Show's about to start, Doctor Irons._ *

* _Stand by._ *

"Welcome to the Limbo, tonight's act might be new, but I promise you they've got a great sound, I give you… _COSMIC ECHO_!"

* * *

 **Outside the Limbo  
2310 BST  
**

* _Exiting the club now,_ * reported Ginny, turning north towards the bus and train stations.

* _No sign of pursuit,_ * confirmed K'oll.

* _Are you sure it's a good idea to take the long route?_ * said Ginny. * _I mean, won't everyone take the direct route, particularly with him on the prowl?_ *

* _Probably,_ * admitted Doctor Irons. * _Which is why you'll look like a better target if you're 'stupid' enough to go off the beaten track._ *

* _Gee, thanks,_ * said Ginny as she turned onto Thirsk Way.

* _Nothing personal._ *

* _K'oll, anything?_ * asked Ginny as she cut off Thirsk Way and onto the side streets.

* _Nothing yet, as predicted most of the club traffic is still on Thirsk Way._ *

* _Stay with Protector, Kid Martian,_ * ordered Doctor Jones. * _We'll trail the rest of the crowd in the van._ *

* _Understood._ *

* _Heading up Elevator Street,_ * said Ginny. * _I'm pretty shielded from view here._ *

* _I'm not recognising anyone from the club behind you._ *

* _You'll hit a cross street from Thrisk Way in about one minute,_ * said Irons. * _Be careful._ *

* _I'm going fly ahead to try and spot any suspects,_ * said K'oll.

* _I'll be ready._ * promised Ginny as she continued her trek towards the intersection, her fingers curled ready to hurl spells at the attacker.

Moments later, she passed through the crossroads. * _Anything_?*

* _Possibly,*_ reported K'oll. _*Purple hoodie coming up behind you fast - on your right - from the cross street… He's in a hurry, but skirting around the cameras. He'll catch up in three… two… one…_ *

Ginny ducked to the left, a clawed hand missing her by inches. Spinning round, she pointed at the attacker. " _Nyktermukes_!"

The flash of light disorientated her attacker for a moment, but to her surprise it didn't do anything else. And when his hood fell back, she saw why.

He was an alien.

With no nose.

* _He's a Durlan Futurist!_ * said Ginny. * _I think I might need some help here!_ *

* _Give me a few seconds,_ * said K'oll.

* _I'll do my best,_ * said Ginny, eying her attacker.

"Why are you fighting back?!" growled the alien.

"Because I don't want to be attacked?"

"It's not going to help… I'll just _hurt_ you more!"

"People like you make me _sick_ ," declared Ginny. " _Gymnosálikate_!"

A sickly-green light hit the Durlan, and he promptly doubled over in pain and began vomiting up giant slugs. "Forget attack-ughh-ing you, I'm going t-ughhh _kill_ you!"

"I don't think so." Ginny told him, running through the other wandless spells she'd been taught recently.

"I know so!" declared the Stripper, as he shook off her spell and lunged forward, claws outstretched.

A spell on her lips, Ginny was just about to cast again, when his flight was intercepted by an airborne, Muggle 'wheelie bin' that nailed him in his side, knocking him flying.

"Score one for teamwork," said Ginny, grinned at K'oll as he shimmered into view and floated down to stand beside him. Then she turned towards their target. "Do you give up?"

The Durlan appeared to consider the question, finally deciding as Iron's van pulled up behind them and Darkclaw and Shadowfox got out, the former already transformed into his reptiloid form. "I give up."

* * *

 **Justice League Watchtower  
Earth Orbit**  
 **11** **th** **July, 1900 EDT**

" _Recognised Natasha Irons A70, Recognised Darkclaw B136, Recognised Shadowfox B144, Recognised Kid Martian B146, Recognised Protector B147_ ," declared the Watchtower's computer as it disgorged Delta Squad back into the station's Zeta Room. Two people were waiting for them, Power Woman, who – was deputizing for Supermartian and Triton while they were at the conference – and someone else who most of the Squad knew well.

" _Harry_!" squealed Ginny. "What are you doing here?!"

"I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your first successful mission," Harry told her. "I told you that you could do it."

Ginny smiled. "Yes, you did," she agreed. "And it feels _good._ "

* * *

 _A/N: I've got some ideas for the next chapter, but as it will involve substantially rewriting what I've written so far, it may be a while._


	7. Chapter 7: To Thine Own Self Be True

**The Legacy of the Dark Knight Saga**

 **Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 7: To Thine Own Self Be True**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and in no way intends to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books, two of which is touched upon in this chapter, and others that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the 'New Tens' as screened, and is fairly heavy on 'legacy' and original characters as a result._

* * *

 **The Dungeon  
Sheldrake Castle  
Great Worden,  
Wordenshire BB7  
13** **th** **July, 0830 BST, 305 AS**

" _Recognised Protector B147_ ," announced the computer as Ginny exited the Zeta Tube into the same cave that she had woken up in just over two months ago.

As before, Hank Hackenbacker was present. "Good morning, Miss Weasley. How are you today?"

"Much better than last time we met, Mister Hackenbacker," Ginny replied. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," the middle-aged man told her. "You call me Hank if you like? Mister Potter and the Prossers do."

"I'll think about it," Ginny said. "Are you coming with us?"

Hank shuddered. "It's not my thing,"

"I think it'll be fun," offered Ginny.

"I'll pass," said Hank, then triggered the roadside exit so that Ginny could leave.

"I'll probably see you later," Ginny told him as she left the cave, the large concealed entrance slid closed behind her, cutting off any potential reply.

She set off at an easy, but steady pace and a few minutes later, she arrived outside Harry's house. She knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Harry himself opened it and ushered her inside. "Thanks for coming, Ginny," he said. "Cousin Beryl had to make an emergency visit to the States and Will didn't think it was a good idea for us to take four pre-teen girls out of town for the day without a female along."

"It's not a problem," Ginny assured him, thinking that he probably a point. "Besides it should be fun. What was so urgent?"

"Star City was hit by a new supervillain yesterday, he calls himself The Polyglot."

"The Polyglot?" Ginny asked as she followed Harry through to the living room.

"He likes to announce his targets ahead of time," said Harry. "Which would normally be very helpful in catching him, but…"

He trailed off, then Ginny remembered what 'polyglot' meant. "He writes the messages in different languages, doesn't he?"

Harry smiled ruefully and nodded, "Every… single… word."

Ginny paused for a moment to consider that. "Wow."

"Conventional analysis could take days, even using Oracle." Harry agreed. "But Cousin Beryl has a 'unique' gift for languages, so Black Arrow asked her for help."

"I hope she can," said Ginny. "How is Jamie taking it?"

"She's disappointed, naturally," Harry replied. "But I think she understands. She's certainly eager to go."

"Am I last one here?"

Harry shook his head. "Joanne and Evan - the only boy who was invited – are the only ones that are here so far."

The kitchen door creaked open and a young girl with reddish-brown hair poked her head around it. "Are they here yet?"

"Just Ginny," Harry told her. "Would you like to say hello?"

"Hello," chirped the birthday girl. "Did you bring me any presents?"

Ginny shook her head. "Sorry Jamie, I didn't have a chance. Harry only invited me last night and all the shops were closed."

Jamie shrugged, "That's okay, I'll get plenty from my friends."

"Have you finished your breakfast?" Harry asked.

"No…"

"I think you should," Harry told her, "Your dad wants to get going as soon as your other friends arrive."

"Okay," agreed Jamie and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Speaking of, have you eaten?"

Ginny shook her head, "I wouldn't mind a bite, if there's some going?"

"Obviously," observed Harry. "You _are_ a Weasley after all."

"You!" growled Ginny in mock outrage and pretended to hit him.

Harry laughed, faking injury as he opened the kitchen door and led Ginny in.

* * *

 **South Beach,  
Blackpool, Lancashire  
FY4 1BB  
13** **th** **July, 1005 BST**

It was early enough that the carpark was still almost empty when they arrived in South Beach and Jamie's dad was lucky enough to be able to park up close to the main entrance to the waterpark's main entrance.

"Do all of you have what you need?" Mr Prosser asked the group as Harry let Ginny and the younger kids out of the back of the Prossers' people-carrier.

Jamie and the younger kids all indicated that they were fine, however Ginny herself decided to speak up. "I need to get a swimsuit."

Mr Prosser nodded, "That will not be a problem. They rent or sell suits inside."

"That's good," Ginny said with relief. She hadn't brought any of her old suits from home as they were all too small and rather childish, and she'd been able to wear her tri-suit from training if she wanted to swim at COR or the Watchtower, but guessed that the waterpark wouldn't like it.

Jamie – apparently tired of this line of conversation – decided to set off for the entrance and the rest of the group had to briefly run to catch up.

When Mr Prosser introduced himself to the man at the desk, a female 'water ambassador' was summoned and offered to give them a tour before they got started, Mr Prosser agreed, and Ginny managed to duck into one of the shop around the main foyer and buy herself a new swimsuit.

After their tour, the kids headed into the changing room to get ready. Ginny's swimsuit was new, so she knew that it wouldn't take long to change, so before she got changed she glanced around to check that the girls were okay before changing. Everything looked normal until she glanced over to the last girl in her party, Panya Parsa. The others were well into changing, but the Arab girl must have been a little reluctant, as her bag was still fastened up and she was still fully clothed.

"Are you all right, Panya?" Ginny asked, when she didn't get a response, she padded over to the younger girl. "What's wrong?"

"I want to take part but…"

"The swimsuit?" Ginny suggested. "Can I see it?"

Panya nodded. Briefly burrowing in her bag for a moment, and then pulled out a high-necked polyester swimdress.

"It's not so bad," Ginny told her.

"Really?" asked Panya. "My parents would not approve."

"Do you really want to miss on a fun day?" Ginny asked her. "Sometimes you've got to do what _you_ want."

Mollified, Panya kicked off her shoes, then started to undress. Satisfied that everything was back under control, Ginny returned to her own bag and removed her new swimsuit from its bag – then after pondering that her mother wouldn't have approved of _her_ outfit either - she undressed and put it on. Then, after glancing at a convenient mirror, she adjusted the suit until it was a perfect fit.

Now prepared, she turned back to the other girls who were all changed as well. "Let's go get wet!" she declared, and lead Jamie and her female friends back around to the birthday party area where Harry, Evan and Jamie's dad were waiting.

Harry smiled when he saw her, "That's a different look for you," he told her, looking up and down at the skimpy string bikini. "I like it."

Ginny blushed slightly at his gaze, but pulled herself together quickly. "I'm through being nervous about things, particularly my mum's approval."

Harry nodded. "I can understand that."

"Have you been here before?" Ginny asked. "Any recommendations?"

Harry nodded, but was interrupted by a siren. "Up for some excitement?"

"Always, why?"

"That's the sign that they're about to start the wave machine in the 'river ride'," Harry said, grasping one of Ginny's hands and dragged her towards the far end of the pool area. "It's not my favourite, but because it doesn't run all day, it's a good place to start."

Ginny almost objected to being dragged along on principle, but then decided to go along with it. _After all, if she couldn't trust Harry, who could she?_

* * *

It wasn't until she was waiting for her lunch, after two hours of wave pools and water slides, that she realised just how much she meant that errant thought. She turned to Panya, the shyest and only non-white of Jamie's friends, "If anyone asks, I'll be back in a minute."

The Arab girl nodded slightly to indicate she'd heard, so Ginny took off at a brisk walk – the water ambassador had been clear that _running_ wasn't allowed – towards the exit and entered the changing rooms. She crossed to the locker that she'd put her things in earlier, removed a small folded square of parchment and relocked it.

Once she was back at the birthday party area, she moved to Harry's side and then glanced at Joanne - the 'smart one' of Jamie's group - who got the hint and moved round to Ginny's old place at the table. Her movement caught Harry's attention and he looked up curiously. "Hi Ginny, is everything okay?"

Ginny paused briefly, then nodded. "Can I ask you something, it's a little private?"

"Can you wait until the food arrives? This lot won't notice anything once they get started."

Given her own experiences, Ginny could easily agree, so she didn't say anymore but slid silently into the empty seat beside Harry, placing the square of parchment in between them on the table where Harry could get it when he was ready.

The staff brought the food over a moment or two later, and as Harry predicted Jamie and the other kids dived in the chips, burgers, hot dogs and fish and chicken bites on offer.

Ginny snagged a hot dog box for herself and Harry opted for a burger box. Harry took a big bite of his burger and while he chewed it, he took the parchment, unfolded it, and began read. Ginny could tell when he reached the first part that she wanted to ask him about, but she waited, picking at her chips while she waited, her previous nervousness and stress returning.

A couple of minutes later, Harry put the parchment down, took a drink of his Soder Cola and then another bite of his burger. "When did you get this?"

"Errol dropped it off this morning," Ginny replied, picking up her hot dog and taking tentative bite of it. "It was a bit of a downer."

"Let's see if I can guess which bits…" Harry suggested. "'Recklessly risking your life'…?"

"Yeah, that was one," Ginny agreed, taking a sip of her lemonade to help with the surge of nausea that swept her.

"'Ignoring your duty to your family'…?"

"That too," admitted Ginny, and smiled a little despite herself when Harry put an arm around her to try and comfort her. "Particularly, when she suggested that I'll disappoint _Bill_ if I stay away from his wedding… He was about the only one who really tried to help me after the Chamber…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't…"

Ginny shook her head, snuggling closer against Harry's lean, muscular chest. "If it wasn't for you I would've _died_ , Harry. You did what you could."

"Thanks, Ginny," said Harry, seemingly relieved. "So, you want my advice about going back?"

Ginny nodded, "I hate that she's still trying to baby and 'protect' me, but she's probably right about the wedding…"

"Well, I agree it's complicated…" Harry told her. "Merlin knows I've had family issues…"

Ginny nodded. Rumours of the backgrounds of various heroes were a common icebreaker and topic of gossip around the Watchtower. The consensus usually favoured Superman and Power Woman for the most tragic and the current Batman for one of the most horrific, but stories like Harry's years of abuse at the hands of the Dursleys weren't uncommon.

"I understand that you don't want to disappoint your brother, but sometimes you've got to think of yourself."

" _You_ wouldn't!" Ginny insisted.

Harry shook his head, then paused for a moment to eat a little more of his meal. "Not only _would_ I," he told her. "But I _have._ "

"What?" said Ginny shocked.

"Have you heard the story of how I ended up with the Prossers?" he asked, taking a deep drink while he paused. Ginny shook her head. "It's quite a story, I'm surprised you haven't heard it."

"Can you tell me?"

Harry nodded, "I think it might help. It was a little over six years ago…. Because my usual minders, Mrs Figg and my aunt's friend Yvonne, weren't available to look after me, I got to go to the zoo with the Dursleys. I was desperate for everything to go well. Spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, my cupboard, or Mrs Figg's cabbage-smelling living room was worth spending the day with Dudley and his friend, Piers…" Harry paused again, finishing his burger off in a couple of bites. "It was the best morning I'd had in a long time… Uncle Vernon bought me a cheap lemon ice pop because the lady in the van asked me what I wanted before they could hurry me away… then at lunch, I got to have some of a knickerbocker glory because Dudley said his 'wasn't big enough' and threw a tantrum until Uncle Vernon bought him another one…" Harry snorted derisively, "I should have known it was too good to be true…"

"What happened?"

"We went to the _reptile_ house after lunch…"

Ginny shivered slightly, her eyes opening wide in surprise. She glanced around to make sure no-one was listening, "Not… _Parseltongue?"_

Harry nodded, "That wasn't the worst of it though, Dudley pushed me while I was distracted, and I accidentally Vanished the glass of the terrarium." Ginny gasped in shock, so he quickly assured her. "As far as I saw or heard, the boa didn't do anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time we got back to Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for me at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, 'Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?'"

"Oh dear," said Ginny, from the rumours she'd heard _that_ couldn't be good…

Harry nodded. "I was bracing myself for the inevitable 'Vernon explosion' when we got home, but then a dark shape looming overhead, Uncle Vernon slammed on the brakes, wrenching the car to one side, Dudley screamed and then we were struck, flipped end-over-end and I blacked out."

"What happened next?"

"I woke up in hospital, five hours later with a blinding headache and blurred vision – although that turned out to just be my missing glasses – and they told me the Dursleys were dead."

Ginny thought she knew Harry and their situations well enough to guess what came next. "You weren't sure that was a 'bad thing' were you?"

Harry looked slightly shamefaced for a moment and then shook his head. "I wasn't no, particularly after Impala – who had pulled me out of the car after the crash – called Cousin Beryl to the hospital, then she brought me to Great Worden, and her daughter Jamie was _really_ happy to see me."

"You were only ten, Harry! It's understandable." Ginny told him, then decided that it was a natural thing to add. "I'm with Jamie on this by the way."

"Maddy and Dr Montrose have told me the same thing," Harry said, smiling a little at Ginny's last comment.

"Maddy?" asked Ginny, then remembered. "She had a similar history with her birth family, didn't she?"

"And her headmistress," Harry added unnecessarily. "No deaths there though."

"Thanks, Harry," said Ginny. "I think that helps… I'm going to see if I can talk to Bill… see what he wants."

"Anything I can do to help?" Harry asked, returning to the last of his chips.

"Not yet, but I'll let you know," said Ginny, returning to her own meal, making a face when it turned out that it was now a bit cold, but she was hungry enough that she dug in anyway.

Once they had finished their meals, the staff brought out the cake and Ginny joined the others in a rousing chorus of 'Harry Birthday' then helped herself to a slice of the cake and looked on as Jamie tore into the stack of presents that the other kids had brought along, most of which to her surprise were identifiable as magical. She looked at Harry with a curious expression on her face.

"Sorry, didn't you know?" Harry asked. "All of the kids are at Hogwarts, they'll be second years in September. Jamie, Melanie and Evan are Gryffindors, Joanne is a Ravenclaw and Panya is a Slytherin."

"Really?" asked Ginny, glancing at the Arab pre-teen. "I wouldn't have guessed that, even if I had known they were magical."

Harry smiled, "She might be a Slytherin, but she's sweet. Not all like Malfoy or one of his ilk."

"That's a relief," observed Ginny, who had been a little concerned for Harry's 'little sister' for a moment.

After their lunch, the kids – including Harry and Ginny – headed back into the water, first into wave pool, then back onto the slides for another couple of hours. When Mr Prosser called them out of the water, Ginny was happy, but sore and exhausted, and looked in askance at Jamie and Melanie as they skipped towards the changing rooms.

"Do you need a hand?" asked Panya, a slight frown on her face.

"I'll be fine," Ginny assured her. "I haven't got as many bruises as this in weeks. I'll need a moment."

Panya relaxed, and followed the other girls towards the exit.

True to her word, Ginny managed to get moving a minute or two later, and she and the others were dried and changed long before the staff started doing their final rounds before closing.

Before she left the Prosser house to Zeta back to The Orchard, Ginny asked for – and received – permission to send Hedwig to Bill with a message asking to meet up at one of Bill's favourite spots in Muggle London.

* * *

 _A/N: This one's a little shorter than usual, but it seems like a good place to stop so I'm going to break it here. However, my next chapter is already beta'd so it should be up shortly._


	8. Chapter 8: A Weasley Wedding

**Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 8: A Weasley Wedding**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and does not intend to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the

Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books, two of which is touched upon in this chapter, and others that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the 'New Tens' as screened, and therefore includes several 'legacy' and original characters on the DC side._

* * *

 **Side Street,  
London, WC2  
20** **th** **July, 1155 BST**

" _Recognised Protector B147_ ," announced the Zeta Booth as Ginny stepped out. Ginny waited for a moment for it to power down, then turned onto Charing Cross Road and headed north up the road, that - despite being the middle of the day on a Sunday - was busy.

Five minutes later, after passing by the Leaky Cauldron, she pulled open the door of W & G Foyle Ltd, a - sometimes eccentric - but well-stocked bookshop, and entered. She bypassed the stacks - which already had several browsing customers - and entered the cafe. Looking around, she didn't see Bill, so she ordered a bowl of soup and some bread from the counter and sat down at a table to wait.

She hadn't been waiting long, as her soup hadn't even arrived yet, when Bill sat down opposite her. "Hi Bill."

"Hi, Firefly," replied her eldest brother. "How's it going?"

Ginny smiled, "Pretty good. Alanna took a group of us to Chester Zoo yesterday for Danny's birthday. That was fun - a different sort of fun than the waterpark I went to for Harry's "little sister" Jamie's birthday two weeks ago - but still a lot of fun."

"And... the Team?"

"That's been pretty quiet for me," Ginny replied. "I missed the big fight at Geneva and I have been only been on two short missions - the hunt for the Steel City Stripper..." Here Bill started, and looked like he wanted to say something. "… It was fine, I got a bit roughed up, but I managed to hex him and then Cole hit him with a Muggle wheelie bin. He surrendered after that."

Bill relaxed a little at that, "What about the other one? Another rapist?"

Ginny shook her head. "We do a lot of other work as well. My second operation was a search-and-rescue in the Irish Sea - a teenage boy fell off a yacht in the Irish Sea and got swept away before his sailing partner could pick him up."

"Did you find him?"

Ginny nodded again, then cast her mind back to the events of two days before…

* * *

 _ **Herefordshire, WD3  
18**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1530 BST**_

 _"Rescue Base, this is Bio-Ship Two," I declared as I turned the Z'orr away from SCOPE's Urban Warfare Compound and towards the coast. "Do you have an update on the search area?"_  
 _  
"_ Affirmative, Bio-Ship Two. _"_ _confirmed the SARF controller. "_ Proceed bearing three-two-two magnetic from current location towards grid reference fifty-three degrees, forty-seven minutes north, by four degrees, fifty-seven minutes west then proceed north. Bio-Ship Three will approach from the north, Rescue One-Two-Two will approach from the east. Weather patterns put the swimmer within two square miles of that location. _"_

"Understood Rescue Base," I told him. "ETA at search grid is six minutes."

 _"_ Rescue Base, standing by…"

* * *

 _ **London, WC2**_

 _She paused for a moment as her brother appeared to be trying to figure something out. "What?"_

"The 'urban warfare compound', that's in England somewhere, right?"

"Herefordshire, why?" asked Ginny, though she had sneaking feeling she knew.

"I know enough about Muggle navigation to know that that location is _over a hundred miles_ from Hereford in the _middle_ of the Irish Sea."

"Yep," agreed Ginny.

"How did you get there in _six minutes_?!"

"Ma'aleca'andran Bio-Ships are _very_ fast," said Ginny with a grin. "I've clocked _Z'orr_ at over one and a half times the speed of sound."

"Wow," said her brother, impressed.

"I know."

* * *

 _ **Irish Sea  
**_ _ **18**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1536 BST**_

 _"Rescue Base, this is Bio-Ship Two, we have arrived at the search area," I declared as I angled the_ Z'orr _down towards the waves and opened the rear ramp. "Preparing to deploy searcher_."

"Received, Bio-Ship Two. Bio-Ship Three is ten minutes out, Rescue One-Two-Two will be on-station in twenty. _"_

"Understood, Rescue Base," I said, and turned towards the other member of my team. "Nita?"

"On my way," my friend confirmed, then rose and headed towards the ramp. She whispered a word 'pomboo' and dived off into the cold waters of the Irish Sea.

* * *

 **London WC2  
**

"How long did it take?" asked Bill.

"Not long," Ginny admitted. "Nita was able to locate him using 'dolphin echolocation' before Rescue One-Two-Two was able to get there. He was cold and _very tired_ but he'll be fine. And hopefully a little more cautious when he's sailing."

"Dolphin echolocation'?" asked Bill, intrigued.

"Nita's wears the Tantu Totem of the Zambesi."

Bill's expression immediately shifted to understanding, "I've heard of that totem, it's from Western Africa isn't it?"

Ginny nodded. "Although some historians apparently think the Zambesi were originally from the Rift Valley of Eastern Africa as they speak Swahili and are named for a Zambian river."

"That would make sense," agreed Bill. "Sounds like you know quite a bit about them, are you two friends?"

Ginny shrugged. "I guess so, she and Eddie Montrose are dating, so she tends to spend quite a bit of time around the Orchard. We've trained and played a few games of Muggle pool together. She and Eddie were also on the squad that took down the Stripper."

She paused for a moment as one of the cafe staff placed the Weasleys' bread and bowls of soup and then returned to the counter. After focusing her attention on her soup for a few moments, she regarded her brother, "I suppose you're wondering why I sent you the letter?"

"I must admit..." said Bill, he had finished his soup and was now working on his bread.

Ginny fished inside her bag and pulled out her mother's letter and handed it to Bill. "Mum sent me this a week ago..."

Bill took the letter, opened it and then began to read. It only took a moment for him to read it, but Ginny could see his expression flit through conflicted to annoyed and finally understanding. He sighed and looked up again, "Who's seen this?"

"Harry, the two of us, Mum... maybe Dad."

"I doubt it," Bill said, looking relieved to know that she'd mostly kept it quiet. "This isn't Dad's style. Especially if he can get hold of you?"

Ginny nodded. "He knows the telephone number of The Orchard and he can also access to The Consulting Room and contact me from there."

Bill looked conflicted again, "I'm sorry that Mum sent you..." he said, indicating the letter. "And I don't like that she's talking down and belittling your choices..."

"But she's right that you'll be disappointed if I'm not at your wedding," Ginny finished for him.

Bill paused, halfway between relieved and embarrassed, and nodded. "You don't have to... with everything that's going on between you and Mum I'd understand if you wanted to stay away..."

"It's okay," Ginny told her brother. "I'd be lying if I said was looking forward to seeing Mum again - and I'm seriously considering having my birthday party at The Orchard, not at the Burrow..."

"I don't blame you there," Bill agreed. "So, you'll come?"

"I'll be there on the day," Ginny agreed. "Is Mum doing the dresses?"

"No, Fleur's mother, Apolline, is getting them from _Mieux Habillée_ in Le Rue du Magie."

Ginny was relieved to hear that. "When should I go?"

Billy looked a little reluctant, then replied. "Can we go today?"

Ginny paused, then finished in her bag for the mobile phone she'd borrowed from stores after moving out of The Burrow. "Sure. I'm going to see if Nita is free, her _mamma_ was a Muggle fashion model and is still active in the business, so she knows a fair bit about it."

"That's fine," agreed Bill.

It turned out that Nita was free, and - as Ginny suspected - was eager to help with clothes shopping, so she joined the Weasleys outside the bookshop half-an-hour later and after finding a scheduled spot, Bill Side-Along Apparated them to Paris.

* * *

 **The Burrow**  
 **Ottery St Catchpole** **  
** **1st August, 1450 BST**

Ginny was just about to zip up the back of her dress when there was a knock on the door. "One minute," she replied, then quickly fastened the back and glanced at the other two people in the room – her brother's bride-to-be Fleur Delacour and her eleven-year old sister Gabrielle – both were dressed, Fleur in a lavish white organza with a black heart design on the bodice formed by a pair of phoenixes and Gabrielle in a silver and black sleeveless dress similar to her own.

Satisfied, Ginny crossed to the door and opened it. Fleur's father was standing outside, "Are you ready?"

"I am," Ginny agreed, then glanced backwards. "Fleur?"

" _Une dernière chose, papa,_ " replied Fleur, as Gabrielle picked up the Prewett Tiara and settled it on her sister's head. " _Bon. Je suis prêt,_ " she declared as she rose to her feet and joined Ginny and her father at the door. Monsieur Delacour took her by the arm and guided her out of the room and down the stairs.

Ginny and Gabrielle quickly slotted in behind them and soon they were passing through the kitchen and out into the garden – which due to a lot of extra work was tidier than Ginny could remember it being at any point in her nearly sixteen years – heading towards the marque that had been set up at the far end of the garden.

As they approached the marque, a quiet murmuring broken by occasional spurts of excited laughter filtered out towards them. Ginny could just see her mother and father strolling up the aisle, smiling and waving at relatives - her mother was wearing a brand new set of amethyst-coloured robes with a matching hat – to where Ginny's eldest brothers were standing at the front of the marquee - Bill in the centre, flanked by Charlie and Percy - all three wearing dress robes, with large, white roses in their buttonholes.

A wolf-whistle – probably from one of the twins – and then an outbreak of giggling – likely from the Veela cousins – broke through the soft buzz. Then the crowd fell silent as music swelled, from what seemed to be the golden balloons floating through the marquee.

"It is time," said Monsieur Delacour, and led the way through the entrance to the marquee.

A great collective sigh issued from the assembled witches and wizards as Monsieur Delacour guided Fleur up the aisle towards the podium, with Ginny and Gabrielle trailing behind. After a few moments, Fleur and her father reached the front and Monsieur Delacour passed her arm over to Bill, then joined his wife in the front row of seats and Ginny and Gabrielle took their places by Charlie and Percy.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said a slightly sing-song voice from the podium. Ginny glanced over at and saw a small, tufty-haired wizard in Ministry presider's robes, now standing in front of Bill and Fleur. 'We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls …"

"Yes, my tiara sets off the whole thing nicely," said Auntie Muriel in a rather carrying whisper.

Ginny found Harry's face in the crowd, and then grinned and winked at him - which he returned - then quickly faced the front again.

"Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle …?"

In the front row, Ginny's mother, and Madame Delacour were both sobbing quietly into scraps of lace. Hermione turned and beamed at Ron who was sitting beside her; her eyes, too, were full of tears.

"… then I declare you bonded for life." The tufty-haired wizard raised his wand high over the heads of Bill and Fleur and a shower of silver stars fell upon them, spiralling around their now entwined figures. As Fred and George led a round of applause, the golden balloons overhead burst: birds of paradise and tiny, golden bells flew and floated out of them, adding their songs and chimes to the din.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called the tufty-haired wizard. "If you would please stand up!"

They all did so - Auntie Muriel grumbling audibly - he waved his wand. The seats on which they had been sitting rose gracefully into the air as the canvas walls of the marquee vanished, so that they stood beneath a canopy supported by golden poles, with a glorious view of the sunlit orchard and surrounding countryside. Next, a pool of molten gold spread from the centre of the tent to form a gleaming dance floor; the hovering chairs grouped themselves around small, white-clothed tables, which all floated gracefully back to earth around it, and the golden-jacketed band trooped towards the podium.

The hired waiters popped up on all sides, some bearing silver trays of pumpkin juice, Butterbeer and Firewhisky, others tottering piles of tarts and sandwiches but before Ginny could even think about getting anything, the entire wedding party – including her - were enveloped by a crowd of well-wishers.

Ginny plastered a smile on her face and tried to ignore her growling stomach as the crowd jostled for position in the receiving line. Mercifully, the crowd thinned out after a few moments and then the band began to play and Bill and Fleur moved onto the dance floor, followed by both sets of parents.

Ginny was about to grab a waiter - with Fleur as the centre of attention it wasn't like anyone would notice her absence - when something caught her eye… One of the 'Veela cousins' was wearing an unusually fierce expression and staring at something or someone. Turning to follow her gaze, Ginny saw she was looking at Xeno Lovegood and Ginny suddenly had a terrible feeling… " _Noumilías_ ," she whispered. * _Harry, where are you_?*

* _On the far side of the dance floor from you,*_ replied Harry. * _Why_?*

*I've got a feeling that one of the 'Veela cousins' is about to do something rather rash,* she replied. _*Can you get to Mr Lovegood?*_

*On it.*

*Hurry…* Ginny told him, moving towards the Veela. But before she could get within arm's length of the girl, the Veela shifted into her bird form and launched a fireball at Xeno. The first one missed, but the second flew true and was seconds from hitting Mister Lovegood when Harry pushed him out of the way, then blocked the fireball with adark-grey circular shield that expanded out from his wrist.

"Hey, _birdlady_!"shouted Ginny, distracting the attacker briefly as she conjured another pair of fireballs. "Stop!"

She turned to Ginny. "I'm going to kill that _murderer_!"

"Okay… even if I thought that that was true," said Ginny, her tone indicating that she thought that Mr Lovegood being a murder _extremely_ unlikely. "This is a wedding, my _brother_ 's wedding. You need to _chill out_ , before I put you down."

"Never, I will have my revenge!" declared the Veela, spinning around again towards Mr Lovegood.

"Okay, I gave you a chance…" said Ginny and raised her hand towards the Veela. " _Pagomeno_!"

A rune formed between her outstretched fingers, then unleashed a freezing stream of power that knocked the woman backwards and coated her in ice crystals.

Percy and Charlie were the first to reach her. "Ginny, why did you?" Percy demanded arrogantly.

"Shush, Perce," said Charlie.

Ginny guessed that _he_ didn't think that she had started it. Percy, she guessed wasn't quite so sure. "She wanted to kill Mister Lovegood, called him a murderer… which I think is rather unlikely."

Charlie nodded, "Mr Lovegood's certainly _odd_ , but a murderer… I can't see it."

Glancing at Percy, she could tell that Percy agreed with _that much_ , but he still wasn't happy. "You still shouldn't have…."

"Percy… she was throwing _fireballs_ around," Ginny retorted. "Even if she _hadn't_ hit Mr Lovegood, _somebody else_ could easily have been hurt."

At that, Percy's expression changed, despite his earlier disapproval, she could tell that she had changed his mind.

At that moment, another of the guests - her neighbour Cedric's girlfriend Cho Chang, who was wearing the jade green and gold of the Holyhead Harpies - came over. "Cedric's checked her over, she's a got a touch of frostbite…"

"So have I…" noted Ginny, examining her fingers. They were reddish, cold, and slightly numb. "Apparently, that spell shouldn't be cast without gloves on."

"A dose of Pepper-Up Potion should fix that," suggested Charlie.

"I'll get on that."

"Cedric had the same idea," Cho agreed. "He's going to take her in and let the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol take care of her."

"That should be the end of it then," insisted Percy. "The authorities will deal that… woman. She will learn that there is a _right_ way and a _wrong_ way to go about things."

Ginny wasn't as confident as her brother that it would be that simple, but as she didn't _know_ any different, she decided to let him have the last word for now. "I'm going to get that Pepper-Up and have something to eat," Ginny told her brothers. "Then I owe Harry a dance."

"Why?" asked Charlie.

Ginny smiled, "Wouldn't you like to know…"

* * *

Two hours later, she was in the middle of a dance with the twins' friend Lee when she was distracted by twin Apparition cracks just beyond the ward boundary. She glanced that way, but relaxed when she saw that the new arrivals were a pair of Hit Wizards. _They must be coming to follow up on Cedric's arrest of that Veela_.

Satisfied that it wasn't anything that she needed to worry about for now – her dad would let her know if they had any questions for her – she turned her attention back to Lee.

Moments later, she was shocked when she was torn away from him, "What the…" she sputtered, words dying in her throat between she realised that her attacker was one of the Hit Wizards. Before she could do anything, he wrenched her arms behind her back and shackled them together and started pulling her towards the ward boundary. "What are you doing?" Ginny asked. _*Harry, help me!*_

The Hit Wizard didn't reply until they were outside the boundary, then he paused, allowing his partner to catch up. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, you are under arrest on charges of magical assault, underage magic and illegal use of a wand contrary to Clause Two of the Wand Use." The Hit Wizard responded, then before she could reply, they Apparated away.

* * *

 **Ministry of Magic,  
London SW1  
1830 BST**

"'That should be the end of it then'," muttered Ginny. "Everything will be fine… nothing to worry about…" She snorted. "Boy, was he wrong."

The two Hit Wizards hustled her towards the lifts. Once they reached them, they pushed her into an empty one and followed her inside. The grilles slid shut with a crash behind them and the lift ascended slowly, chains rattling as usual.

" _Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club and Ludicrous Patents Office._ "

 _"Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office and Apparation Test Centre._ "

 _"Level Five, Department of International Magical Co-operation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats._ "

When the doors opened, three of the memos zoomed out but a dozen more memos zoomed in, so that the light from the lamp flickered and flashed overhead as they darted around it.

 _"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau._ "

" _Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, including the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee._ "

Two of the memos zoomed out of the door, however this time none came in. However, that didn't stop the remaining memos from continuing to soar around the lamp as the lift juddered upwards again, and then after another moment the doors opened and the voice made its final announcement.

" _Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services._ "

As soon as the doors opened, they pushed her forward. Ginny staggered, just about catching herself before she fell. Which was a good thing given that her hands were shackled behind her. She almost said something to them but decided that she was in enough trouble as it was.

They turned the opposite way than Ginny was used to, and after passing several doors – all closed – came to a set of shabby, pine ones. The larger of the two Hit Wizards shoved Ginny hard into the middle of the doors, knocking them open, and this time she couldn't catch herself before she hit the ground. The impact knocked the breath out of her and distracted her long enough that she heard only snatches of what the Hit Wizards were saying to the woman at the desk. "Daughter of the French… magical assault…. Pius Thicknesse?"

"He's left for the weekend, Sweets," replied the woman. "Theopholous Diggle might still be available, would you like me to check?"

"His uncle is a friend of her father," replied the older Hit Wizard.

"Perhaps not then," agreed the woman. "She'll have to stay until Monday."

 _What?_ thought Ginny. _That doesn't sound right…_ She was just about to say something when the younger wizard kicked her in the side, knocking the wind out of her again.

"Do you have her wand?" asked the woman, wilfully ignoring her colleague's brutality.

"I don't…" Ginny tried to say, but was silenced by a foot on her neck. To her surprise, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the older Hit Wizard hand over a vaguely familiar looking wand. _Merlin's beard, that's the wand I got from that_ Zuiverheider _that tried to kill me in Svalbard. That's_ not _good._

"Shoes too," the woman reminded them.

Deciding that it might be better to keep silent for a while until she could figure out how to explain the wand, Ginny kept quiet while the two men pulled her to her feet and removed her shoes, which they handed over to the woman at the desk – according to the plaque on the desk, the ironically named Honoria Sprake – who put both the wand and Ginny's shoes into a large paper bag.

Then, without warning, the two Hit Wizards jerked Ginny away from the desk and pushed her against the nearest wall. Then there were several flashes as Sprake took some pictures of Ginny, and then they yanked her back to the counter again. Where a small card with her name, address and other details were written now sat. Ginny heard a click and then her arms were free of the shackles but she was still being held by the Hit-Wizards. Without even giving her the opportunity to co-operate, the two men wrenched first one and then the other arm forward, Sprake cast a quick spell on her fingers that stained the tips back and then they pushed them against the paper recording her prints. Then Sprake duplicated it and attached one to her property bag – which was then Banished to a filling cabinet - and added the other to a binder on her desk. While she was doing that, Sweets' young partner produced a golden rod similar to a Muggle car antenna and wave it over her briefly. "She's clear."

"Put her in number four," said Sprake and then went back to the newspaper she'd been reading when Ginny was hauled in. Without any further warning, the Hit Wizards pulled Ginny away from the desk and half-walked half-dragged her through the bullpen to the holding cells beyond, opened one of the doors and tossed her in. This time, with her hands free, she was able to catch herself before she hit the ground.

"Good night," sneered Sweets as he slammed the door behind her. "Sleep tight."

 _I knew today was a bad idea,_ thought Ginny as she tried to find a comfortable position on the stone shelf that served as a 'bed', pulling the rough blanket around herself to try and keep the cold out. _But I didn't think it would be this bad…_

Her last thought before the pain of her injuries caused her to pass out was, _I hope Harry can get me out this…_

* * *

 _A/N: Oops, another difficult chapter for Ginny. I really_ do _seem to be putting her in a lot of bother don't I? Anyway, all will be resolved in the next chapter and there probably only going to be another chapter or maybe two after that in the current "season". After that, I'm considering splitting the next "season" (which will shift the narrative to a more HP-centric one) into another story, as much of it will work better from a different main PoV character. I'd be interested in hearing my readers' thoughts on that as I have a general idea what I want to do with it, but some of the fine detail will be decided by who the main PoV character is. Currently, it looks like using my OC Jamie Prosser as the main POV will fit my plans the best, but I could stick with Ginny or even fall back to the default of Harry, but I'd rather not as apart from one or two chapters it would hamper the story._


	9. Chapter 9: Truth and Consequences

**Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 9: Truth and Consequences**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and does not intend to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books, two of which is touched upon in this chapter, and others that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the DC Comics elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011), _but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the 'New Tens' as screened, and therefore includes several 'legacy' and original characters on the DC side.  
_ _  
_

* * *

 **Ministry of Magic,  
London SW1  
2nd August, 0830 BST** **.**

 _What the…_ thought Ginny as she drifted back into consciousness the next morning. Then, she felt the cold stone underneath her and everything that happened the day before came flooding back. "Those bast…" she began, but cut herself off when she spotted a familiar face crouched next to her stone shelf 'bed'.

"Don't stop on my account," said Tonks with a grin. "I've said worse."

"What are you doing here?" asked Ginny. "I thought I was stuck in here 'till Monday?"

"Harry managed to get hold of Madam Bones, she's agreed to come in specially to investigate the situation," said Tonks, rummaging in her bag, and removing some sandwiches which she handed to Ginny. "You should be fine, Cedric agrees that that Veela was well out of line."

"I thought I heard something about her father being some sort of bigwig in France?" asked Ginny as she took a big bite out of a sausage and egg sandwich.

Tonks nodded, "Pierre Delaforêt, he's the Senior Mugwump for the French seats on the International Confederation of Wizards."

Ginny groaned, that was all she needed…

"That's probably the main - maybe even the only - reason those two meatheads even bothered to bring you in at all." Tonks added. "Although, I've been asking around and your dad's not too popular at the moment either. Something about his work ethic making the Patrol look bad."

"That's not exactly reassuring, Tonks," Ginny complained. "They found that wand I picked up at Svalbard."

"Why didn't you hand it in?" asked Tonks.

Ginny shrugged, "I only cast that one Bat Bogey Hex at that _Zuiverheider_ after he tried to kill me and Harry and I took him down and chucked it in a drawer in my room and forgot about it."

Tonks frowned, "So, you didn't have it on you when they brought you in?"

Ginny shook her head. "I haven't even looked at the thing in three months, Sweets' partner-"

"Andrew Thurkell," supplied Tonks. "Came into the Patrol about the same time I joined the Aurors, more of a sidekick or a flunky than a partner really."

"Yeah, him," agreed Ginny. "He must have gone into the Burrow and nabbed it from my old room."

Tonks pondered this. "That's odd… Arthur didn't mention anything about being told about a search…"

"Doesn't surprise me," said Ginny darkly. "Dad was up in the paddock when they jumped me and dragged me off."

"I think I need to check a couple of things…" said Tonks, rising to her feet. She opened her bag again and removed a bundle of clothing. "Here, Molly thought you might like some fresh clothes."

"Thanks," said Ginny, taking them gratefully.

"I'll be back in about twenty minutes to take you to Madam Bones."

"I'll be ready," Ginny assured her.

* * *

As promised, Ginny was cleaned up and dressed and waiting at the door when Tonks returned twenty minutes later. "Ready?" Tonks asked.

"As I'll ever be," Ginny replied. "Anything I should know?" she asked as they walked up the corridor towards the Hit Wizard bullpen.

Tonks nodded. "Cedric is fetching the files on Pius' investigation. She also knows how rough Sweets and Thurkell were when they brought you in, so she's not exactly fond of them or Sprake at the moment either."

"That doesn't exactly harm my case," Ginny noted. "Any word on the wand?"

Tonks made a face. " _That_ doesn't exactly work in your favour," Tonks suggested. "I've owled Ollivander to come in and check it out. Hopefully he can prove it wasn't yours."

Ginny wasn't overly hopeful, she'd only ever had a second-hand wand, so she and Ollivander had never met. However, her mood improved slightly when she and Tonks entered Madam Bones' office and found that she wasn't alone.

Her father and Kathryn were also present.

"Have a seat, Miss Weasley," said Madam Bones. "I don't like some of what I'm hearing about this case, so I'd like to hear your side of the story before we go any further."

Given her experiences with the Department over the last twelve hours, Ginny thought that was an oddly reasonable idea. "I'm willing to cooperate, Madam Bones."

"Excellent, that will make things a lot easier," said Madam Bones, "So you understand why you are here?"

"More or less… It's because I hexed that Veela…" she paused.

"Igraine Delaforêt," supplied Tonks.

"Yeah, her," agreed Ginny.

"Why did you do that?" asked Madam Bones.

"We were at my brother Bill's wedding at the Burrow. I saw her scowling at Xeno Lovegood, then she transformed, threw a fireball at him…"

"According to Auror Trainee Diggory, Mr Potter was able to shield Mr Lovegood from the fireball?" said Madam Bones.

Ginny nodded. "Using an expandable shield hidden in a bracelet, not a spell," she insisted.

Madam Bones checked her notes, and then nodded. "That agrees with the statement from Mr Lovegood and Trainee Diggory's notes." Madam Bones confirmed. "What happened next?"

"I told her to stop…" said Ginny. "She claimed that Mr Lovegood was a 'murderer', and she would have her revenge."

Ginny glanced at Madam Bones, who looked like she was expecting this.

"I told her that even if it was true – and I don't think that it is – that we were in the middle of the wedding so she needed to calm down, or I was going to put her down."

Ginny glanced over the three adults in front of her. Her father looked a little surprised at this, but otherwise okay, Kathryn was smiling slightly, apparently satisfied with her response. Madam Bones appeared unsurprised, but neutral.

"What then?"

"Then she turned around to face Mr Lovegood again," replied Ginny. "So, I hexed her."

"What hex?"

"'Pagameno'," said Ginny. "A wandless variation of the Freezing Charm."

Madam Bones turned to her mentor, "Professor?"

"A good choice against a firecaster," Kathryn replied. "I might have done the same thing."

"Dangerous?"

"A single spell?"

Madam Bones nodded.

"Not really, chilblains are common… perhaps a touch of frostbite," Kathryn told her. "But it's definitely a non-lethal."

Madam Bones seemed pleased at that, and made a couple of notes. "Why didn't you let someone else handle it? Mr Lovegood himself for instance?"

Ginny frowned, "She was throwing around _fireballs_ and pretty accurately too, Mr Lovegood didn't react quick enough and I thought someone might get hurt if she wasn't stopped quickly."

Her mentor made a noise at this point.

Madam Bones glanced in her direction, "Professor?"

"Clause Seven of the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery allows for the use of magic in life-threatening circumstances."

"I agree," said Madam Bones, then turned back to Ginny. "While your action were not ideal, I agree that they were justified and reasonable so I'm withdrawing Mlle Delaforêt's magical assault complaint and the underage magic charge." Then she shuffled around the parchments on the desk. "That leaves the wand charge. According to Auror Tonks, you claim that you didn't use the wand and it was removed from your room at the Burrow. Do you have anything to add about that?"

"No, ma'am."

Madam Bones turned to Tonks, "Auror Tonks, please Floo Ollivander's and find out if he has finished his analysis."

"I'm on it," said Tonks and crossed to the fireplace. " _Ollivander's_!"

Moments later, an elderly long-haired man's head appeared in the fireplace, "Good morning Madam Bones."

"Good morning, Mr Ollivander. Do you have anything for me?"

"The wand is Italian Maple. Fourteen inches, inflexible, with a Griffin feather core. It has been in use for twenty-two years."

"One of yours?"

"Definitely not," replied Ollivander, emphatically. "I only use dragon heartstring, unicorn hair and phoenix feathers in my wands."

"Do you know any wandmakers that use griffin feathers?"

Ollivander nodded, "Madam Anciano at _Baguettes d'Aniciano_ on _Le Rue du Magie_ uses griffin feather, as does _Kyrios Khéreliás_ on _Odos Mageía_."

Ginny's mentor spoke up at this point, "Mr Ollivander, you say that the wand has been in use for twenty-two years?"

"Yes, I certain of that."

"Can you tell whether the wand has changed allegiance?"

Ollivander brightened at this, "Of course, as a wandmaker I have to be aware of that anytime I handle a wand."

"Has it?"

"No, it's still bonded to the original owner."

"Is there any possibility that it changed allegiance to Miss Weasley here?" asked her mentor pointing towards her.

Ollivander looked slightly offended at the question. "There are some small indications that someone else may have handled at some point, perhaps Miss Weasley, but other than that no."

"Can you tell if has been used recently?"

"Not within the last few hours certainly," replied Ollivander. "Several weeks ago, at least."

"End of April?" suggested Kathryn.

"That would be consistent," agreed Ollivander.

Kathryn turned to Madam Bones, "Madam Bones, given that Clause Two requires _use_ not mere _possession_ of a wand, I would suggest that this proves that the charge is without basis and should be withdrawn."

Madam Bones nodded, "I agree." Then she turned back to Ginny. "Miss Weasley, I apologise on behalf of my department for your inconvenience, and you are free to go. I will be looking into the circumstances of your arrest as it would appear to have been unjustified and inappropriate. I will let you know by the end of the week what I've decided."

"Thank you, Madam Bones," said Ginny, rising out of her chair.

"Tonks, can you walk her out?"

"Of course, Madam Bones," replied Tonks and ushered her out of the office.

* * *

 **The Burrow,  
Ottery St Catchpole  
5** **th** **August, 1000 BST**

"Ginny, an owl has come from the Ministry!" yelled her mother from the kitchen.

"Coming, Mum!" replied Ginny and turned her broom towards the ground, with Ron not far behind.

Moments later, she was sitting at the table and had the letter in her hand, she quickly opened it and scanned the short missive.

Dear Miss Weasley,

 _We have completed our investigations regarding your offences under the Code of Wand Use and the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, and the magical assault on French national, Igraine Delaforêt, on the first of this month, at the Burrow in Ottery St Catchpole._

 _Upon further investigation, your arrest for these charges was not warranted and no further disciplinary action will be taken against you for the above actions and the Ministry apologises for any inconvenience or distress that was caused by the precipitous actions of Hit Wizards Zebulon Sweets and Andrew Thurkell. Both Hit Wizards have been dismissed from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, and the statuses of Desk Witch Honoria Sprake and Interrogator Pius Thicknesse are under review._

 _Yours Sincerely,_

 _Xandra Cross_  
 _Senior Assistant to the Department Head,_  
 _Department of Magical Law Enforcement._

Ginny looked up again.

By this time, she and her mother had been joined in the kitchen by Ron and Hermione.

"Well?" asked her mother, she was trying to hide her nervousness but Ginny could tell.

"I got off," Ginny replied. "And the two thugs that hauled me in…"

"Ginny!"

Ginny glared at her friend, "Hermione, they threw me through a door, letting me fall on the floor, then kicked me so hard in the ribs they broke two. What would you call them?"

Hermione had the good grace to look contrite at that, "Well, obviously, that was wrong… but they are Ministry officials and they should be treated with respect."

"Not anymore," said Ginny scornfully. "Madam Bones fired them."

"Yes!" cried Ron. "That'll teach them!"

Ginny snorted. She admired her brother's optimism, but in her experience that type rarely changed…

* * *

 _A/N: That wraps up the penultimate chapter of_ Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire _. However, I am pleased to announce that the sequel, Jamie Prosser and the Fourth Champion, is currently in the planning stages and I will start writing it later this year.  
_


	10. Chapter 10: Full Circle

**.**

 **Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire**

 **Chapter 10: Full Circle**

 _Disclaimer: This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity, and does not intend to infringe on copyrights held by Time Warner, DC Comics, Bloomsbury et al, and JK Rowling. Any characters original to this work remain the property of the author._

 _A/N: This story diverges significantly from accepted canon for the_ Harry Potter _series from the outset, as in addition to the crossover elements, there are several deviations from the books, two of which is touched upon in this chapter, and others that will be covered where they fit into the narrative. The timeline of the_ DC Comics _elements borrows heavily from_ Young Justice (2011) _, but adds elements and characters from the comics, and relocates the series to the late Sixties and early Seventies rather than the 'New Tens' as screened, and therefore includes several 'legacy' and original characters on the DC side._

* * *

 _ **Unknown Location  
23** **rd** **August, 305 AS**_

 _"How fastidious you've become, Wormtail," hissed Voldemort. "As I recall, you once called the nearest gutter pipe home. Could it be that the task of nursing me has finally become wearisome for you?"_

 _"Oh, no, no," his parents' betrayer replied. "No, no, my Lord Voldemort." He paused for a moment, trying to decide what to say next. "I only meant… perhaps if we were to do it without the boy…"_

 _"No! The boy is everything!" declared Voldemort. "It cannot be done without him, and it will be done exactly as I said. I have waited sixteen years, Wormtail. A few more months will make no difference."_

 _At that moment, a third man who Harry was sure he'd never met but looked vaguely familiar moved into view and crouched beside Voldemort. "I will not disappoint you this time, my Lord. Everything is in place."_

 _"Good," said Voldemort. "Are our old comrades ready to strike when they get the sign?"_

 _"Yes, my lord."_

 _Then, a huge snake slithered into the room hissing loudly. Voldemort turned to Wormtail, "Nagini tells me that the old Muggle caretaker is standing just outside the door, listening to every word we say."_

 _The third man glanced towards the door as Wormtail moved to open it._

 _"Step aside, Wormtail…" Voldemort ordered as soon as the door was opened and the old man revealed. "… so, I can give our guest a proper greeting…"_

 _Wormtail obeyed and Voldemort raised a wand. "Avada Kedavra!"_

 _There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and the old caretaker crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor._

* * *

 **Great Worden,  
Wordenshire BB7  
** **23** **rd** **August, 0415 BST** **  
**

Harry Potter woke with a start. At first, he remained flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face. The old lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.

He sat up, one hand still on his scar, the other hand reaching out in the darkness for his contact lenses box, which was on the bedside table. He put them in and his bedroom came into clearer focus, lit by a faint, misty orange light that was filtering through the curtains from the street lamp outside the window.

Harry ran his fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. He turned on the lamp beside him, scrambled out of bed, crossed the room, opened his wardrobe, and peered into the mirror on the inside of the door. A leanly muscled boy of seventeen looked back at him, his blue eyes puzzled under his short-cropped dyed-brown hair. He examined the lightning-bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.

Harry tried to recall what he had been dreaming about before he had awoken. It had seemed so real... There had been two people he knew and two he didn't ... He concentrated hard, frowning, trying to remember... The dim picture of a darkened room came to him...There had been a snake on a hearth rug...a small man called Peter, nicknamed Wormtail... a slightly familiar-looking stranger… and a cold, high voice...the voice of Lord Voldemort. Harry felt as though an ice cube had slipped down into his stomach at the very thought...

His time with the Team had brought him in contact with many dangerous foes, but the _personal_ nature of his fight with Voldemort always made it seem different… almost _intimate_ in a way. He idly wondered if the first Batman had had similar feelings regarding the Joker…

Snapping himself out of his brief introspection, Harry pulled out some clothes and started to dress. If Voldemort was back in England – and Harry suspected he was – and preparing to move against him then he needed to inform the League as soon as possible.

Ten minutes later, he exited the Zeta Tube into the Watchtower. Supermartian appeared to be deep in one of meditation trances but came out it as Harry moved towards him. "Squire?" he queried. "Is there a problem?"

"A development, certainly," Harry admitted. "I just a vision in my dreams, about Voldemort…"

"Show me," ordered Supermartian, his eyes glowing white as he drew on the telepathic skills of his Martian half.

* * *

 **The Burrow  
Ottery St Catchpole  
23** **rd** **August, 0605 BST  
** _  
_ _  
_Ginny slipped out of the back door into early morning air, and was about to start stretching-out before her run when she heard a low beeping sound coming from their shed. "No rest for the weary," she sighed and walked over to the shed.

As she suspected, the beeping sound was coming from the comm-unit of _Zeta_ Module she'd stashed there weeks ago. She walked up to it and allowed it to scan her. " _Recognised Protector B147_ ," confirmed the computer. " _Incoming message from the Watchtower, Priority Amber_."

"Play incoming call."

" _Acknowledged_ ," replied the computer.

A split second later, the small screen on the surface of the device lit up and Supermartian's face appeared on it. " _Protector, can you come up to the Watchtower as soon as you get this. Squire has urgent information to share with the Team._ "

"On my way," replied Ginny. She paused for a moment to consider whether to run back upstairs to get her bio-suit, but then decided that it was probably better not to keep the others waiting, so activated the teleporter and disappeared in a flash of light. 

* * *

**The Watchtower  
Earth Orbit  
23** **rd** **August, 0106 EDT  
**

A few moments later, Ginny reappeared on the Watchtower and headed towards the meeting room. Supermartian, Triton and Harry were already waiting.

"Thanks for coming, Ginny," said Harry as she took a seat beside him. Little Mermaid was sitting opposite.

"Anytime, Harry," replied Ginny as Maz blurred into the chair on Harry's other side.

"What's up?" said Maz.

"We're still waiting for Amanda," Harry told her. "I don't want to tell this story twice."

Maz didn't seem happy about that, but didn't say anything. But she didn't have to wait long as Amanda arrived before the hour was up.

Once she was seated, Harry was rose to his feet and scanned the room. "Hello, thank you for coming. Supermartian, is that everyone?"

The veteran Leaguer nodded, "Darkclaw, Kid Martian and Shadowfox are embedded in Gorilla City dealing with 'Grulti, heir of Grodd' and can't get away."

Harry nodded. "Let's get started then," he tapped a few controls and pulled up holo-screens in front of each of them. "For Amanda's benefit, I'm going to backtrack a little. Shortly after I was born, my parents found out that they - or possibly I - were being specifically targeted for death by self-styled 'dark lord' and terrorist leader, Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, so we went into hiding. We should have been safe as only one person knew where we were. However, he was secretly in league with Voldemort and he betrayed our location."

Despite having heard the story before, Ginny couldn't help but feel a swell of anger at this.

"On All Hallows Eve, he attacked us at Godric's Hollow. My parents were murdered but – due to circumstances we still don't entirely understand – I survived and Voldemort was discorporated. I was removed from the wreckage of the cottage by Order of the Phoenix member Rubeus Hagrid - currently incarcerated in the wizarding prison Azkaban on false assault and murder charges – who was instructed to take me to live with my mother's relatives, the Dursley family, in Surrey."

He paused for a moment to take a drink of water. "At the time, Albus Dumbledore decided to do this because he believed that my godfather, Sirius Black, also known as Padfoot, the 'white sheep' of an infamous magical family, was the one who betrayed my parents and I. However, three years ago, evidence was discovered that suggested that another friend of the family – Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail – may have been responsible instead. We believe he is currently working with the remnant of Voldemort, but previous attempts by the League to locate either him or his master have failed."

Ginny shivered a little at that, 'remnant' felt a little too much like 'Tom', who according to Kathryn was something called a Horcrux.

"Has something changed?" asked Little Mermaid.

"Yes," confirmed Harry, pausing for another drink. "Last night, I had a vision of Voldemort and Wormtail, they were in an abandoned manor house, discussing the fact that I had finally 'come out of hiding' and so they could 'proceed with the plan' to use their 'inside man' to lure me into a trap. Normally, this – by itself – wouldn't be much use as I didn't see outside the house in the vision. However, just as they were finishing their conversation, they were interrupted by a third player, Voldemort's pet snake Nagini, who had discovered an eavesdropping local man, who was then killed by the remnant."

"When Squire approached me half-an-hour ago, I extracted the memory of the local man from his mind and ran facial recognition through Oracle," added Supermartian. "We got a match through almost immediately."

He touched one of the keys on his computer and the face of an old man popped up. "Frank Bryce, served during the Second World War, he was attached to the 148th Infantry Brigade and invalided out at the rank of Corporal in June 1940 due to injuries sustained at the Battle of Dunkirk. After receiving what rehabilitation was available, he took a job as a gardener for a family in Little Hangleton, England. He next came to official attention in the summer of '93 when he was a suspect in the murders of his masters."

Possibly because she had already been thinking about 'Tom', it didn't take Ginny long to make the connection. "Thomas Riddle, his wife Mary, and his adult son, Tom. Voldemort's father and his paternal grandparents."

Harry glanced at her, his expression briefly indecipherable even to her, then nodded. "Indeed, so we believe that Voldemort has returned to Little Hangleton, and we also believe that it was Voldemort, not Frank Bryce that murdered the Riddles in '43."

"When do we hit him?" asked Maz, her tone indicated that 'now' was the answer she was looking for.

Harry shook his head. "As much I would like to, we still don't know the capabilities of the remnant, and while Voldemort isn't a genuine challenger to the Dark Lord…"

Ginny snorted, "He wishes."

"Probably," Harry agreed. "Assuming he's heard of him?"

Ginny shrugged, the few bits and pieces that she could still remember didn't mention him, but it wasn't unlikely that he'd found out later.

"The instant kill potential of the Killing Curse and the wizard ability of Apparition – self-teleportation – means that we will be better off if we let them spring the trap and then strike while they are otherwise occupied with whatever ritual they have planned."

"We don't expect to have a great deal of notice once Voldemort instigates his plan, which is why we wanted to brief you immediately," added Supermartian. "If there are no further questions…."

There weren't.

"Then that's all for now," he told them. "Dismissed."

As Ginny rose to her feet, Harry moved to stand beside her. "Are you still up for the match later?"

"Mum's having kneazles about it," Ginny admitted. "But she's beginning to realise that she can't coddle me forever. When should I be at yours?"

"The Portkey leaves at ten-thirty," replied Harry.

"I'll be there," Ginny promised. Then before she could talk out of it, she kissed him on the cheek and skipped out of the room, heading towards the Zeta Tubes.

* * *

 **Ilkley Moor,  
West Yorkshire LS9  
23** **rd** **August, 1030 BST**

Ginny and the others – Harry, Jamie, and her friend Melanie – appeared in the typical flash of light outside the Harpies Stadium. Only Ginny and Jamie were dressed for occasion, though the Harpies' shirt that Jamie wore over her leggings was far closer to its original dark-green than Ginny's. Unlike his two favourite girls, Harry was dressed in his usual t-shirt and jeans, while Melanie wore a vest and jeans.

Ten minutes later, the quartet were in their seats and by the time eleven o'clock rolled around, the stadium was about two-thirds full and it looked to Ginny like the fans – most of which were wearing either Harpies' green or the navy-blue of Puddlemere - were mostly in place. Moments later, a wizard in Ministry robes appeared in the Executive Box, whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said " _Sonorus_!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands. "Ladies and gentlemen. . . my name is Derek Fowler and I welcome you to the opening game of the Holyhead Harpies' 1997 campaign!"

Most of the spectators – including all the ones in green - screamed and clapped. The huge blackboard opposite the Executive Box was wiped clear of its last message and now showed HARPIES: 0, UNITED: 0.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce today's players! In a change from the European Cup-winning line-up of this season, playing in green today are... Carter, Copeland, Morgan, Chang, Reynolds, McLaughlin and… your captain and the Grand Dame of British Quidditch…. GWENOG JONES!"

Seven green-clad players zoomed out of the players' entrance and took a circuit around the pitch to the cheers of the green-clad supporters in the stands.

Fowler paused for a moment to allow the cheering to subside. "And in brown, for Puddlemere United are… Hawkins, Griffiths, Wadcock, Simpson, Townsend, Wood and… WILLIAMS!"

Another septet of players flew onto the pitch and after a lap around the pitch to the cheers of their fans they took position opposite the Harpies.

"And finally, our referee, from the British and Irish Quidditch Association… Isaias Crabtree!"

"Captains, shake hands!" said Crabtree.

Jones and Williams approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other's fingers.

"Three... two... one..." said Crabtree as he opened his trunk and released the Bludgers and the Snitch, which quickly flew out of sight. Then he picked up the Quaffle and threw it up in the air.

The sound of his whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms flew towards each other. "And it's Puddlemere in possession, Claude Hawkins with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Harpies goal posts, looking good, Claude! Argh, no - Quaffle intercepted by Morgan, Valmai Morgan tearing UP the field - WHAM! - nice Bludger work there by Wilbur Simpson, Morgan drops the Quaffle, it's caught by… Wadcock, Puddlemere back in possession, come on, Jacquelyn - nice swerve around Copeland – ducks a Bludger, sent her way by Jones - SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO PUDDLEMERE!"

"Not a good start," observed Ginny, wryly over the boos of the Harpies' fans.

"No," Harry agreed. "Although if Oliver gets his way, I might not agree for long."

Ginny turned to him, confusion on her face. "What… why?"

"Oliver's been trying to get me to agree to try out for Puddlemere since my birthday," Harry replied. "Benjy Williams is looking to retire, injuries I think…"

"So _that's_ where you got the tickets," Ginny realised.

"Not entirely," Harry clarified. "Jamie got a season ticket for her birthday… the others – including mine - were freebies from Oliver though."

"Puddlemere in possession, Griffiths heading for the goal, dodges a Bludger from Harpies Captain Gwenog Jones, just Reynolds between her and the goal now… he shoots… and it's saved by Reynolds. Long pass to Copeland, now Morgan… who ducks a Bludger from McLaughlin, heading for the Puddlemere goal… can Oliver Wood, in his first match with the main team, stop the Harpies' leading scorer? She's shoots… and it's saved by Wood! Puddlemere are now back in possession, Griffiths with the Quaffle…"

The boos and jeers from the Harpies' fans got louder and louder, much to Ginny's disappoint. She was even more annoyed when an object flew from one of the stands and struck Puddlemere's leading scorer, Wilda Griffiths, on the head as she aimed the Quaffle at the goals.

The Puddlemere stands erupted into furious shouts as she spun to the ground semi-conscious.

Valmai Morgan swept in to snag the Quaffle, and turned towards the Puddlemere goal, but before she could get very far, Crabtree blew his whistle and she stopped and hovered in mid-air.

"It's a time-out!" yelled Fowler. "as trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Wilda Griffiths!"

Harry turned to Ginny, slightly confused. "What was that about?"

Ginny made a face. "Griffiths used to fly for the Harpies until she switched to Puddlemere a couple of seasons back. Apparently, one or two fans still hold a grudge."

A few minutes later, the mediwizards had treated the woman and she was back on her broom and heading into the air.

"The referee awards a penalty to Puddlemere United for a deliberate attack on their Chaser!" announced the commentator. "Griffiths takes the shot and puts it away…. TWENTY-ZERO TO PUDDLEMERE!"

This seemed to energise rather demoralise the Harpies as they quickly took the initiative. "Morgan has the Quaffle, ducks a Bludger from Townsend, long-pass to Carter who angles for the goals… another Bludger heads her way from Simpson, blocked by Captain Jones, Carter takes aim…. and scores! TEN-TWENTY TO THE HARPIES!"

"That's more like it!" said Ginny, pumping a fist enthusiastically.

"Harpies maintain possession… pass to Copeland… back to Morgan… she shoots and SCORES! THE HARPIES PULL LEVEL AT TWENTY-TWENTY!" declared Fowler. "Puddlemere in possession… Griffiths with the Quaffle, heading out of the Puddlemere scoring area… she takes a Bludger from Jones and is out of play!"

The sea of blue erupted into furious jeers as Morgan snatched the Quaffle and swung back towards the goal.

"This could be it…" said Ginny, eagerly.

"Shouldn't the referee call it…?" asked Melanie, as the mediwizards hurried out onto the field again.

Ginny shook her head. "That's what Beaters are _supposed_ to do."

"Morgan shoots… and scores again! THE HARPIES TAKE THE LEAD!" declared Fowler. "The mediwizards are removing Griffiths from the pitch and play continues…. The Harpies are still in possession… Carter with the Quaffle, takes a Bludger to the shoulder and drops the Quaffle… intercepted by Wadcock, blocked by McLaughlin, passes to Hawkins… intercepted by Copeland… passes to Morgan… she shoots… AND SCORES FOR HARPIES. THEY NOW LEAD THIRTY-TWENTY!"

"I think the Harpies might have this one in the bag…" suggested Jamie.

"Don't be so sure…" cautioned Ginny. "The Snitch is still in play…"

Harry nodded. "In fact… I think I see the Snitch…"

"Where?" asked Jamie.

Ginny glanced at Harry and then followed his eyeline. She spotted it a few seconds later, about the same time as Williams, the Puddlemere Seeker and Captain, spotted it and shot off towards it. Cho, who had been tailing him closely, was only a few broom lengths behind as they shot towards the glittering ball near the Puddlemere goals.

"The two Seekers have spotted the Snitch and are heading towards it, jockeying for position, Chang in the lead, now Williams… Williams, now seconds from the Snitch… dodges a Bludger from Jones, Chang now pulling ahead… she reaches for the Snitch… only two brooms to go…"

"Come on, come on…"

"AND SHE CATCHES THE SNITCH… On her debut match, Cho Chang wins the match for the Holyhead Harpies at ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TO THIRTY!"

The Harpies fans' cheered loudly in victory, but this quickly turned to screams as an orange, fire spell burst from one of the Puddlemere stands and flew towards the victorious Harpies Seeker. Fortunately, she spotted it in time to dodge. But unfortunately, this meant that the spell kept going and smashed through the base of one of the support poles of their stand, which then lurched to one side and started to fall.

Ginny jumped to her feet and could feel herself losing her balance. "Harry…"

Harry threw out his arms to cover as many people as possible. " _DNATS_ _ETATIVEL!_ " he declared. "Ginny, I'll try and hold the stand. Get as many people to safety as possible!"

"On it!" confirmed Ginny. "Jamie, Melanie, lead people towards the exit… it's on the opposite side to the break…!"

Jamie paused for a moment, clearly a little intimated by the situation.

" _Thanaitor_ , _Corchala_ , _Khaiphos_!" said Ginny, and then leapt into the air. "You need to go NOW! Harry can't hold it for long!"

She took a deep breath and then pulled Melanie to her feet as well. "Let's move it people, quick as you can!"

As if they were waiting for instructions, the fans at the base of the stand started to move towards the stairs.

"Let's keep it orderly, people!" Jamie told them, trying to keep the smaller fans from being crushed.

Satisfied that the evacuation was underway, Ginny flew towards the top of the stand and grabbed an older gentleman under the arms and lifted him off the stand.

"What are you doing…?" demanded the man, struggling in her arms.

"Saving your life!" replied Ginny coolly. "Be still!"

He seemed to accept that and seconds later he was back on the ground and Ginny was returning for another fan.

She kept this up for about five minutes until the Aurors arrived and were able to take over, then she and her group disappeared before reporters could arrive.

* * *

 **The Orchard  
Royctonshire  
25** **th** **August, 1030 BST**

"Well, how do you feel?" Doctor Montrose asked as Ginny entered her office two days later. "Kathryn thought you might get flashbacks or nightmares…"

"I'm fine," Ginny replied. "Ilkey Moor was very different from Svalbard… I knew what needed to be done and I did it, and people were saved."

"I'm glad," the older woman said. "I'd like to see you at least once a month just to be sure… and of course I'll be available if you need anything."

"So I'm cured?" asked Ginny.

"I think you've come to terms with your past and your role in the future."

"I'll take it." Ginny said with a grin.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, that's it for Ginny Weasley and the Squire of Wordenshire. All being well, the story of the_ Legacy of the Dark Knight _will continue in_ Jamie Prosser and the Fourth Champion _later in the year_.


End file.
